overcome

How the Will of Man Can Overcome All Sin

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In my personal devotions with God one early morning, I discovered a most profound truth that I must share with you. I was reading the book Christ’s Object Lessons, 333, and found this mind boggling inspired quotation: “As the will of man co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent.” At first I found this difficult to comprehend, for only God is omnipotent. Could it be possible that God loves us so much that He is willing to share this unbelievable power of omnipotence with you and me? Since I am a firm believer that both the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy are divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, I was overwhelmed with this revealed truth that God would share His omnipotent power with sinners like you and me so that we may overcome every temptation of Satan and live victoriously as Jesus did.

Let us keep in mind that there is no question concerning the eternal truth that is found in Romans 8:3: “God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” It was thus that Christ as our example demonstrated for us how He in the likeness of our sinful flesh joined His will with God’s omnipotent power making it possible for Him to live on earth without committing one sin. This is why He could say, “Which of you convinceth Me of sin” (John 8:46, first part)? Only Christ could make such a statement, for in His daily life He fully surrendered His will to God’s will. We read of this dedication in John 6:38: “I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.” This was demonstrated in the Garden of Gethsemane in choosing death rather than life when He stated, “Father, all things are possible unto Thee; take away this cup from Me: nevertheless not what I will, but what Thou wilt” (Mark 14:36).

Christ has revealed how He cooperated with God in joining His human will with God’s divine will. This is why the Bible pleads, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). If we will follow the example of Christ and place our will in the hand of God we too can have absolute victory over sin.

Now this brings us to a most important question. What is the will? I believe this can best be described by what it is not. Please let me illustrate. Most of you have no doubt experienced something similar to what I am about to tell you. You have been in someone’s home when it was bedtime for their children. I was making a pastoral call with my wife one evening in the home of one of our church members. Their little boy Johnny was excited to see the pastor. As we visited, the boy’s bedtime became past due so Mother said, “Johnny, it’s time for you to go to bed.” Instantly he shook his head, No! No! and he began to pout. Mother insisted, “Johnny, come now, let’s go to bed.” At these words he began to reveal his real nature. He stamped his feet, fell on the floor kicking and screaming. His mother picked the little fellow up as he struggled to resist. Mother blushed as she said, “My boy has such a strong willpower.” Now that was a misnomer. Johnny was not displaying his God-given willpower, but instead a disobedient “won’t” power. And what’s more, won’t power is not to be confused with want power.

Let me explain further. An old man in the jungle was in such pain that he walked ten miles to one of our dispensaries in a small town. The doctor took one look at his swollen jaw and told the man his tooth must be taken out. So the man got in the dental chair and watched the doctor make preparations. First he put on a white jacket and then placed the hypo with the long needle on it on a nearby table. The jungle man’s eyes grew bigger and bigger. Next the doctor placed a small lance and forceps next to the hypo. After rolling up his sleeves the doctor told the man, “Open your mouth.” Suddenly he yelled, “No! No!” You see this jungle man had never seen a dentist before in his entire life and he was scared to death. The doctor pleaded, “You will only feel a tiny prick and when the tooth is gone you will not have any more pain.” “No! No!” The man got up out of the chair and rushed to the door and ran back into the jungle with his terrible pain. Why? Because he was not willing. Now what have we learned thus far? The will of man is not won’t power. It is not want power. The will is the deciding power of man.

Let me give you the best definition of the will that I have ever found. “Pure religion has to do with the will. The will is the governing power in the nature of man, bringing all the other faculties under its sway. The will is not the taste or the inclination, but it is the deciding power which works in the children of men unto obedience to God or unto disobedience.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 513. So we have arrived at the proper definition. The will is not won’t power. The will is not want power. The will is the deciding power. These words deciding power imply there is a counsel of judges.

Let us consider that your mind, your brain, is the chamber in which three judges sit. The first judge is called the voice of reason. This is why God pleads, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord” (Isaiah 1:18). Only man has this power of reasoning. This ability leads to choice. It is not found in the animal kingdom. The greatest gift that God ever gave to mankind is His son Jesus Christ and the next gift is that of the power of choice. If man is to be saved to everlasting life he must accept this precious gift of Jesus and then properly use the gift of choice.

We read in Deuteronomy 30:19, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” Now let us consider this judge called reason. He is cold and factual. He will argue the pro and the con pointing out the good and the bad and he pays no attention as to whether you like it or not. Without question he points out the advantages or disadvantages.

Now what makes our reasoning power tick?

Point number 1: Reasoning power is developed by your home life, the teachings and example of your parents, Bible study and prayer, and how you use the television, the radio, [and the Internet].

Point number 2: Your reasoning power is determined by the school you attend. Are Christian standards taught and upheld? Are modern scientific theories to be accepted without question? Or, is the final answer found in God’s word?

Point number 3: The church you attend affects the power of choice. Are its teachings based on God’s word or on tradition? Do you attend for the excitement of its weekly drama and the beat of the Christian rock music, or to be quietly, spiritually fed by the Holy Spirit? There is one more point.

Point number 4: Do not forget the effect of your associations upon your reasoning ability. Are your close friends worldly with evil habits? Or are they the kind you love to discuss spiritual truths with?

Each of these four factors affects the reasoning ability of this judge called reason.

The second judge is your heart’s ideal. Some may call it your feelings. We are not talking about your mind of knowledge, but of your heart’s seat of affections. For God says in His word in I Kings 3:9, first part: “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart.” Our ideal judge is developed by the same four standards of our personal environment – the home life, the school, the church and your associates. The important question is Are these four factors Christ centered? The poet has stated, “Be like Jesus, this my song; in the home and in the throng. Be like Jesus all day long. I would be like Jesus” (James Rowe, 1911).

The third judge is the voice of conscience. As with the other two judges, the counsel of this judge is also developed by the home, school, church and our associates. We are not born with a conscience and we must not consider our conscience infallible. Take the example of Saul of Tarsus. It was his home life, schooling, church, and associates which all played a part in the development of his ungodly conscience. Keep in mind that he was taught that tradition was above the word of God, that he could work his way to heaven, that higher education should be trusted as above the counsel of God, that priestly teachings and commands were to be obeyed with a cadaver-like conscience. Is it any wonder that he acted as he did? He persecuted the people of God, believing he was doing God a favor. But on the road to Damascus he met Jesus and he was never the same again. As Saul looked into Christ’s face, He became his ideal. His conscience was renewed by the Holy Spirit enabling him to see the folly in fighting God’s truth. He immediately forsook his former associates. His reasoning power no longer was based on tradition but on God’s eternal word.

No longer do we talk of Saul the persecutor, but of Paul the apostle. Why? Because the three judges in his mind chamber now acted differently. His reasoning power was now based on Scripture. His heart’s ideal was no longer to be like the Jewish priests but to be like Jesus. His conscience followed the leading of the Holy Spirit. His new associates encouraged him to stand faithful to God. The Bible explains this in two words—born again.

We praise God for Paul’s new birth experience, but we must ever keep in mind that if this change of mind in us does not reveal a death of the old nature and a resurrection of a new Christ-like nature, this apparent change of character will not last but end in complete failure.

Consider the following: An individual may accept God’s word as the basis of his reasoning, but if he continues to make his ideal that of some TV movie star, the power of this worldly ideal will become so strong as to eventually overrule the word of God. Or if one permits the Holy Spirit to develop within him a godly conscience but he reasons to question God’s word because of the teachings of higher education, he will discover that doubt will become the master, actually destroying his faith in God. And what’s more, you may have good reasoning, heavenly ideals and a holy conscience, yet, if you accept as your closest friends the unconverted with evil habits, all of your godly counsel, high ideals, and saintly conscience will avail you nothing, for the power of evil associates is so great that it will overpower these Christian qualities. Thus you will never be able to join your human willpower with that of omnipotence. Victory over sin will be unattainable.

Consider once more this will chamber in man’s mind. Sometimes it often takes a few moments to make the right decision and this requires a porter called self-control to take control and give time for the three judges to take action. For instance, when a problem arises demanding a decision, this self-control porter opens the door to the will chamber stating, Just a minute; don’t be too hasty, for we expect the right decision.

Paul explains this action with these words: “Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things” (I Corinthians 9:25, first part). Ellen White uses these words found in Messages to Young People, page 134: “The highest evidence of nobility in a Christian is self-control. He who can stand unmoved amid a storm of abuse is one of God’s heroes. …

“It is God’s purpose that the kingly power of sanctified reason, controlled by divine grace, shall bear sway in the lives of human beings. He who rules his spirit is in possession of this power.”

So at the doorway to the council chamber of the will sits this porter of self-control. And whatever the source of impulse, be it habits, hereditary tendencies or some emotion, you name it, your mind chamber becomes alerted for action. Self-control gives the three judges of your will sufficient time to come to the right decision. It may take only a split second for reason, desire, and conscience to act. Then again it may take more time, but to act impulsively without the decision of these three judges can be a disaster – the difference between life or death, heaven or hell.

Let me make this practical. Take the example of hunger. This is a God given desire implanted at birth. As it follows the nerve pathway to the brain, if it is unhampered by reason, ideal, or conscience, the result is obvious – we will eat anything at any time, in any quantity to satisfy the impulse. This could lead us to become a glutton or a drunkard, but if we channel this desire to our will chamber, immediately the porter for the self-control says, Wait a minute, your three judges need to act. Instantly reason takes over. So you want to eat? Well, that’s perfectly all right, but remember, the work you are doing dictates the quantity you eat. And don’t forget – you should wait at least four to five hours between meals. And you will need some protein, carbohydrates, and minerals. What? You don’t like greens? That doesn’t matter. Eat it; it is good for you. Remember, you are what you eat. You want to be alert, don’t you? Clear eyed and quickly able to distinguish between truth and error. It is a known fact that the man who follows God’s prescribed diet of fresh fruits, grains, nuts and vegetables is found to be in the best of health, mentally as well as physically.

Then conscience speaks up. Everything that can be eaten shouldn’t be eaten. Some things are poison and God has declared some things are unclean. So in the will chamber of your mind you will have made a right decision: I will eat the right food, in the right quantity, at the right time. And the result – you’re a happy, contented, healthy, clear-minded thinker on the road to the best of health—all because of the correct action of your will.

Now what about passion? There are two paths that can be taken. One is controlled passion. The other is uncontrolled passion. God gave us passion and there is nothing wrong with this wonderful gift, but if uncontrolled by the will, it can lead to indiscretion, petting, lasciviousness, adultery, perversion, and even incest. What was true love can become lust, breaking the marriage vow and ruining the life. Uncontrolled passion is a curse and it is always promoted by the devil.

You may not like the comparison I am about to give but it’s absolutely true. A young woman with a proper willpower can become an unselfish mother, rearing her beautiful children for Christ in her Christ-like home, or she can become a harlot, roaming the streets like a dog in heat. Both are inspired by the same instinctive urge of passion. What makes the difference? It is the willpower. No wonder the wisest man that ever lived said in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” And the apostle Paul added in Romans 8:13, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” This fact remains as long as there is life on earth. Your will is the determining factor between eternal life or death. Inspiration makes this very clear in Messages to Young People, page 31: “O that every one might realize that he is the arbiter of his own destiny! Your happiness for this life, and for the future, immortal life lies with yourself.”

Now does this mean that God doesn’t have anything to do with your salvation? Of course not. What it means is that you must do the willing and then God can do the saving. Let me read further from this inspired book on page 212: “Remember, … that each day, each hour, each moment, you are weaving the web of your destiny. Each time the shuttle is thrown, there is drawn into the web a thread which either mars or beautifies the pattern. If you are careless and indolent, you spoil the life which God designed should be bright and beautiful. If you choose to follow your own inclinations, unchristlike habits will bind you with bands of steel.” Here again we discover what is the deciding factor. It is the will.

Now let me conclude with the profound truth I read to you in our introduction of this important message found in Christ’s Object Lessons, 333: “As the will of man co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent.” [Emphasis added.] What a tremendous thought! Omnipotent? Why, that is a power belonging only to God. What does this mean? Your will can become omnipotent when it is completely dominated by God’s will because your reasoning, your ideal, your conscience and your choice of associates are all in tune with God. This is how Jesus as a man made in the likeness of our flesh (Romans 8:3) was able to overcome every temptation of Satan and never sinned. God pleads with you and me to do likewise.

As we read before in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” As Christ gave His will completely to God, His willpower became omnipotent over every temptation, and praise the Lord, we too can live victoriously over sin when we can say as Christ said, “Not My will, but Thy will be done” (Luke 22:42, literal translation). God never forces the will. The power of choice was God’s original gift to man and it will always be as long as eternity lasts. When we willingly give our reasoning, ideal, and conscience to God, He shares His divine power with us. Praise His name! Oh what love! What a Savior! You can hear His voice calling now.

Isaiah 1:19, 20 says, “If ye be willing [there it is again, the power of the will] and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Praise God; it is so simple. Messages to Young People, 120: “Put your will on the side of Christ. Will to serve Him, and in acting upon His word you will receive strength. Whatever may be the evil practice, the master passion which through long indulgence binds both soul and body, Christ is able and longs to deliver. He will impart life to the soul that is ‘dead in trespasses’ (Ephesians 2:1). He will set free the captive that is held by weakness and misfortune and the chains of sin.”

Don’t you like this kind of a God? Does He not appeal to your heart? With the help of His omnipotent power you can say with Paul, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). So beloved, with God’s help I have laid before you life or death. Your will determines what your choice will be.

A missionary told me of an old man who walked into the mission hospital asking for some medicine to heal his broken finger. As the doctor unwrapped the dirty rag covering his hand he discovered the finger was dead. It was black, rotten to the bone. Alarmed, the doctor said, “There’s no medicine that I can give you to cure your finger. It must be amputated immediately or the blood poison of your dead finger will kill you.” But the man would have none of this. He insisted, “Doctor, if you won’t give me medicine to cure my finger, I’ll return to the jungle and find my old witch doctor. He will give me medicine. If it won’t work, I’ll come back in ten days.” Two weeks later the doctor inquired of a patient who knew this man. “Tell me, what happened to the man with the infected finger?” “Oh,” said the friend, “he died five days ago.”

Why did he die? Was it because there was no doctor to save him? No, he was not willing. When we shall soon see Jesus coming in the clouds of angels to bestow eternal life to the faithful, if any of us should find ourselves calling for the mountains to hide us from His glory, it will not be because God made no provision to share with us His omnipotent power to gain victory over every sin. It will be because we were not willing for Christ to save us.

So I beg of you – let your reasoning be developed by a daily study of God’s word; let your ideal be to become like Jesus. Keep friends with those who do likewise. Let your conscience be the still small voice of the Holy Spirit and you will be living day by day ready to meet Jesus. Remember, “You cannot control your impulses, your emotions, as you may desire, but you can control the will, and you can make an entire change in your life. By yielding up your will to Christ, your life will be hid with Christ in God, and allied to the power which is above all principalities and powers.” Messages to Young People, 152. Beloved, that is omnipotent power. Praise God!

“As the will of man co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be done at His command may be accomplished in His strength. All His biddings are enablings.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 333.

For more than fifty years Lawrence Nelson served the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a church pastor, evangelist, and then in Conference, Union, and General Conference leadership. When God laid upon him the responsibility to tell it “like it is” to alert the people how the church was leading them into the worldwide ecumenical movement he was forbidden to preach in any church within the Oregon Conference. Though nothing could be found in his preaching that was contrary to the doctrines of the church he was considered divisive so Keep the Faith Audio Tape Ministry was born.

Our Greatest Need

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As a preacher I am often contacted by people with suggestions to preach about certain subjects that they are concerned about. These suggestions are always the pet subject of the people who think everyone should agree with their interpretation on the subject. Identifying the king of the north, the identity of the 144,000, or how to apply certain aspects of health reform are just a few. Though these are important issues, they are not salvational issues.

The most important question anyone can ask himself or herself is, Am I ready for Jesus to come and am I going to spend eternity in the kingdom of heaven?

So, whatever view you hold concerning the king of the north, or concerning what constitutes appropriate dress, it will not do you any good if the Lord should come and you are not ready to meet Him.

As I pondered the reason why many professed Christians will not be ready for the Lord to come, I finally narrowed it down to just one big reason that covers a multitude of other reasons.

The One Who Overcomes 

The Bible teaches that if you are going to be ready for the Lord to come, you must be an overcomer. In Revelation 2 and 3 to all seven churches, which represents the whole Christian world for all time, salvation is promised only to the overcomer.

Revelation 21:5–7: “Then He Who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’ And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega [the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet], the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.’ ” We see here that it is the one who overcomes who is going to inherit everything.

Salvation is for those who overcome. Today we are living in a pessimistic age, but the 19th century, in Ellen White’s time, was an age of optimism. I could hardly believe it and used to laugh as a child when my father would tell me how people used to talk. There were people who would actually stand in front of the mirror and say, “Every day in every way I’m getting better and better.” They would repeat it believing that if they said it enough it would actually happen. It was believed that life would get better and better.

I thought, What trash! What craziness! How could people be so foolish in just one generation past? The fact of the matter is they lived in a time of optimism. Because of all the new inventions, they thought they could conquer disease and war and they thought they were going to live in a utopian society.

After a couple of world wars in the 20th century, confidence was destroyed. Since then we have become a very pessimistic people. Now people say to preachers, “I can’t overcome.” The preachers too are affected just like other people by the society in which they live and have adjusted their preaching to suit the tenor of what people think. This is where the doctrine of perfectionism came from. It is the idea that you just come to Christ and instantly you are perfect from that time on. Seventh-day Adventists do not believe in perfectionism, have never taught it, and Ellen White never endorsed that doctrine.

The pendulum has swung from the extreme view of the 19th century clear to another extreme wherein the people now say it is impossible to be perfect, although the Bible clearly teaches Christian perfection.

Jesus said, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him” (Luke 11:13)! All parents love to give good gifts to their children.

Why can’t People Overcome?

If that is the case, if indeed our heavenly Father wants to give His children the Holy Spirit, why is it then that these people cannot overcome? They have not received the Holy Spirit because they are unwilling to make an undivided commitment to God. Luke 14:33: “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” Unless you are willing to make an unreserved, undivided commitment to God, to follow Him and to obey Him, you cannot receive the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will continue pleading with you; however, cannot work in your life contrary to your will. We need to understand that the Holy Spirit will never work contrary to your will and in order to work in your life, your will has to be totally surrendered to God.

Without full surrender and total commitment, you become stuck. That is why people get discouraged in their Christian walk. They say, “I can’t overcome,” which is true without the Holy Spirit. Why don’t they have the Holy Spirit? Because they have not made an undivided, unreserved surrender to God. Now we could go one step further and ask why they have not made an undivided, unreserved surrender to God. If that is the way you get the Holy Spirit, why don’t people do it?

The reason people are not willing to make an undivided commitment, to give their undivided affections to God is because they don’t know Him. Therefore, they don’t love Him and they don’t trust Him. How can you make an unreserved surrender to somebody that you don’t know, and you don’t trust, and you don’t love?

Would you want to marry somebody you do not know, do not love and do not trust? Of course not. People do not know, love and trust God because they lack faith. Ellen White says, “Every failure on the part of the children of God is due to their lack of faith.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 657. It doesn’t matter how weak you are, how sinful you are, or whatever your problem is; if you have faith in God and understand the plan of salvation, He is going to make it work out in your life.

Every failure on the part of the children of God is because of their lack of faith. The disciples came to the Lord one time and they said, “… Lord, increase our faith” (Luke 17:5).

Romans 10:6–17 explains why there are some people that do not have any faith. If you do not have faith, then you do not know God and cannot make a commitment. You are stuck and cannot receive the Holy Spirit.

Verse 17 tells how to get the faith you need so that you can be saved. It says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

It is never the wrong time to decide that it is time to get serious about knowing God and learning how to get the faith that you need, so that you can make the commitment to Him and receive the Holy Spirit. Thus the plan of salvation can work out in your life.

Start by reading the Bible through. Maybe you have done this before, but each time you read, you will find some new treasure that you had previously missed. Learn the principles found in God’s word regarding life and then apply the principles to your own life.

Some people have read the whole Bible several times, concentrating on certain chapters. However, it is not enough just to read. The Bible says in Psalm 119:11, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” David memorized Scripture passages that would come to his mind readily when they were needed.

Many people find temptations irresistible. When the devil comes at them with temptations they do not have any weapons with which to fight him. Temptations often appear irresistible because, through neglect of prayer and the study of the Bible, the tempted one cannot readily remember God’s promises and meet Satan with the weapons of Scripture.

When the devil came to Jesus in the wilderness of temptation, His only defense was the word of God. Scripture that He had previously committed to memory was His only weapon against His wily foe.

Scripture memorization Suggestions

If you want to win in your Christian life, it would be beneficial to have some scriptures memorized. Here are a few suggestions:

The Sermon on the Mount – The length of this passage may be scary for some people, being three chapters, but most people have memorized part of it anyway. Most people can say the Lord’s Prayer which is part of that sermon. The Golden Rule is also a part and can be found in Matthew 7:12. Jesus said, “… do to others the way you’d like them to do to you.” I think about that scripture often. I am convinced that if I do not learn to do to others the way I would like for them to do to me, I will not be in the kingdom of heaven. That same principle is also taught throughout the writings of Ellen White.

Within the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus specifies in very clear language that anyone can understand who will be saved and who will be lost. Jesus also spoke there about the ten commandments. It would do well to memorize the whole sermon.

Remember, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. When you put the word of God (Romans 10:17) in your mind, it has an effect on the way you think and the way you feel, and it starts having an effect on the way you act. It enables you to make an unreserved surrender to the Lord and to receive the Holy Spirit. Thus you start having victory in your life over bad habits.

The Love Chapter – Another passage worth memorizing is I Corinthians 13. It is wonderful to recite to yourself these passages about love. Read them in different translations. Once while a guest in someone’s home I was asked to share for morning worship with them. I had my Greek New Testament with me so I just read to them a literal translation of I Corinthians 13 and we were all blessed. It is one of the most important chapters for a Christian to understand. Paul spells out 15 different characteristics of love, all of which should be manifest in the life of each Christian.

The Ten Commandments – These should be memorized with an understanding of every word. It is also beneficial to know where all 10 of them are repeated in the New Testament. Interestingly, each time they are mentioned they are repeated as a divine obligation. Someday we might have to answer to that in a court of justice.

The Three Angels’ Messages – These messages are the very reason that Seventh-day Adventists exist. It is these three final messages that have to be sounded to the world before the Lord can return. They contain God’s last invitation of mercy to a planet that is in rebellion. And as we approach the end of the world, the eternal destiny of every single person in the world will be determined by whether that person accepts or rejects the warnings therein.

Have you carefully noticed the final instructions that Jesus gave to His disciples before the crucifixion? This instruction is so important, so precious and so wonderfully recorded in John chapters 13 to 17 that it would do well to commit to memory. If you are feeling a little weak-minded at the length of the passage just remember that the Waldensian young people would memorize the whole gospels of Matthew and John.

John 17 is one of the clearest chapters in the whole Bible that describes the mediatorial work of Christ in our behalf in heaven. Here we get a preview of what He was going to do after His resurrection.

Make sure your life is in harmony with the divine commands given to Christians in 2 Corinthians 6:14 to 2 Corinthians 7:1. In a sermon recorded in Romans 12, Paul describes 40 different characteristics that identify Christian living. He also elaborates the practices that, if continued, will bar you from the kingdom of God. These can be found in I Corinthians 6:9, 10; Ephesians 5:3–6; Colossians 3:5, 6; Romans 1:28–32; Romans 2:8, 9 and Galatians 5:19–21.

Peter’s Ladder – 2 Peter 1:3–7 describes the Christian growth in the form of a ladder.

The disciple described as the one whom Jesus loved teaches the way to develop the grace of brotherly love in I John 2:2–5.

And finally, James admonishes in James 3 the importance of getting control of the littlest member of the body that often gets us in so much trouble. Whoever can control his tongue will be able to overcome other character defects. There will be a group of people who will overcome and be like those described in these scriptures. The Lord has promised to have a group of people at the end who are without fault before the throne of God. John said it in Revelation 14:5. Paul talked about it in Ephesians 5. Jesus talked about it and all the apostles talked about it and we are living in the time when it is going to happen. The question is, Am I going to be part of it?

Toward the end of James’ book, after he had given much instruction for being ready for judgment, he says to the people, especially for those who live in the last days: “… the Judge is standing at the door” (James 5:9)!

Dear friends, Jesus came to this world to save you, to save every member of the human race who is willing to be saved. He came to this world the first time as a Saviour and not a judge. But let me tell you something. When He comes the second time, He is not coming as a Saviour; He is coming as a judge. All cases will have been decided before He leaves the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. You will already have been saved or you will never be saved. There is no second chance. That time is rapidly approaching.

Before the door of mercy shuts, it would be well for us to say, “Lord, I am serious. I am going to pray every day. I am going to study Your word every day. I am going to seek to bring my life into harmony with what I read in Your Book. I am going to make an unreserved commitment. Lord, I want to receive the Holy Spirit so that I can have victory in my life.”

He is calling to us today, pleading with us to return into His fold where there is safety. The Lord never fails to do His part when we approach Him in sincerity and repentance.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church of Free Seventh-day Adventists in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Are You Ready for the Time of Trouble?

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I believe that the time of trouble is right around the corner for God’s people. God’s people should not be afraid of the time of trouble. When I was a little boy, I used to have nightmares about the time of trouble. I have found out since, that when you know the Lord Jesus Christ, you do not need to worry about the time of trouble. It is during this time that Michael is going to stand up to protect God’s people.

We are going to study about the persecution of God’s people. Second Timothy 3:12 tells us that, “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Is persecution of God’s people something new? No, it has been going on for thousands of years, but there is going to be a time of trouble that is going to come upon God’s people that is going to be worse than any persecution that has ever taken place. Have you heard about what happened to God’s people during the Dark Ages, about how the early Christians were fed to the lions?

“In every age since the fall of Adam the opposition of evil agencies has made the lives of those who would be loyal and true to God’s commandments a continual warfare. Those who would at last be victorious must meet and conquer the forces of Satan, who with fierce determination opposes every step of advance. They must meet a vigilant foe, a crafty enemy who never sleeps and who tries untiringly to undermine the faith of God’s servants.” In Heavenly Places, 260. Do you know what it means when it speaks of undermining the faith of God’s servants? It means to discourage them. If that does not work, then there is an effort to undermine the work God’s servants are doing.

I believe that one of the master strokes of Satan in recent memory has been the Waco tragedy. Because that fanatical group had a tie-in with the Seventh-day Adventist Church some sixty years ago, the structure is now trying to show them to be an example of what takes place when groups separate from the organized structure, thereby casting reproach upon all independent ministries. I believe this was a master stroke of Satan to tie in anyone who dares, in 1993, to stand for the truth, with the group in Waco. Perry Parks, the president of the Montana Conference, immediately following the disbanding of the Troy, Montana Church said that the only difference between the Troy Church and Waco is that the Troy group had no guns.

Let me tell you; any man who would be so vile and low, who would stoop to compare the Historic Adventist independent ministries with the fanatical group in Waco, is absolutely devoid of all honesty. Cyril Miller, the Southwestern Union Conference president made the statement that the independent ministries and those responsible for the billboards have the potential of being more dangerous than the group in Waco had.

Satan has worked though his agents to agitate, to bring reproach upon the cause of God. We have been told that this is exactly what we are to be faced with in the last days, and we have not seen anything yet. There will be more reproach brought upon the truth and those who dare to stand for truth, than anything we have yet seen.

Let me assure you that there is no peace between truth and error. “The antagonism that exists between the spirit of Christ and the spirit of Satan was most strikingly displayed in the world’s reception of Jesus. It was not so much because He appeared without worldly wealth, pomp, or grandeur that the Jews were led to reject Him. They saw that He possessed power which would more than compensate for the lack of these outward advantages. But the purity and holiness of Christ called forth against Him the hatred of the ungodly.” The Great Controversy, 506. This is why Jesus was hated, for no other reason. “His life of self-denial and sinless devotion was a perpetual reproof to a proud, sensual people. It was this that evoked enmity against the Son of God. Satan and evil angels joined with evil men. All the energies of apostasy conspired against the Champion of truth.” Ibid.

What is apostasy? When you hold to a religious belief and later backslide from it and renounce what you once believe, that is apostasy. So, in the last days, we see that Satan is going to use the energies of apostasy. Now, does this mean that he is going to use people of other churches against Seventh-day Adventists? In order to be an apostate Adventist, you must have once been an Adventist and have backslidden. This does not necessarily mean you will no longer call yourself a Seventh-Day Adventist, because if you did that, you could not do as much damage. No, these people will still call themselves Seventh-day Adventists. They will still attend Seventh-day Adventist churches, but they will be suing people they do not like, and they will not believe what true Seventh-day Adventists have believed for one hundred and fifty years.

“The same enmity is manifested toward Christ’s followers as was manifested toward their Master. Whoever sees the repulsive character of sin, and in strength from above resists temptation, will assuredly arouse the wrath of Satan and his subjects. Hatred of the pure principles of truth, and reproach and persecution of its advocates, will exist as long as sin and sinners remain. The followers of Christ and the servants of Satan cannot harmonize. The offense of the cross has not ceased. ‘All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.’ 2 Timothy 3:12.” The Great Controversy, 507

Please do not waste your time, folks, calling me and suggesting a meeting with the conference men to try to reconcile. Can we reconcile? Folks, I am sorry. When the Waldensian Christians were persecuted, when God’s faithful people down through the ages who have been persecuted were approached by those who wanted to work out a compromise, they responded by telling them that when they would forsake their false doctrines and separate from sin, they would gladly embrace them; but as long as they insisted on being joined to falsehood, there was no purpose in talking.

Friends, do not think that some of the independent ministries are unwilling to reconcile. Oh, we are! We want to be reconciled with the corporate structure, and if they would be willing to get the Pentecostalism, the New Age spiritualism and the Neuro-linguistic programming of our pastors out of the church and ask for forgiveness, we would get on with preaching the three angel’s messages together. There cannot, however, be reconciliation over falsehood.

“All who in that evil day would fearlessly serve God according to the dictates of conscience, will need courage, firmness, and a knowledge of God and his word; for those who are true to God will be persecuted, their motives will be impugned, their best efforts misinterpreted, and their names cast out as evil.” The Acts of the Apostles, 431. We cannot be timid in the last days. We can no longer warm the pews. “No longer consent to listen without protest to the perversion of truth.” Selected Messages, book 1, 196. You are not going to obtain courage and firmness unless you are reading and studying.

God always divides His people up into two groups, and this is happening right now. There are no longer any gray areas; things are becoming black and white.

“He [Satan] is now preparing for his last campaign against the church. All who seek to follow Jesus will be brought into conflict with this relentless foe. The more nearly the Christian imitates the divine Pattern, the more surely will he make himself a mark for the attacks of Satan.” The Great Controversy, 510

Have you heard of the carrot and the stick routine? First of all, the person trying to conform you to his idea hangs the carrot out—something you like—and an attempt is made to entice you to conform to his idea. If you do not go for that, then the stick is brought out; and if you still do not conform, he will hit you with the stick. It is a method of Satan.

“As the movement for Sunday enforcement becomes more bold and decided, the law will be invoked against commandment keepers. They will be threatened with fines and imprisonment, and some will be offered positions of influence, and other rewards and advantages, as inducements to renounce their faith.” Ibid., 607

I do not know how the devil will try to use the carrot on you, but just as he offered to Jesus all of the kingdoms of this world if He would but bow down and worship him, he will come to you, offering you advantages to be gained by compromise. Just as the alternative to accepting the bribe was death, so in the last days, if you remain faithful, expect betrayal from your fellow Adventists. “Those who apostatize in time of trial, will, to secure their own safety, bear false witness, and betray their brethren. Christ has warned us of this, that we may not be surprised at the unnatural, cruel course of those who reject the light.” The Desire of Ages, 630

I believe that The Great Controversy does more to prepare God’s people than any other book.

“When He leaves the sanctuary, darkness covers the inhabitants of the earth. In the fearful time, the righteous must live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor.” The Great Controversy, 614

Now what does it mean to live without an intercessor? It mans that we must have allowed Christ to give us victory over all sin in our life.

“The restraint which has been upon the wicked is removed, and Satan has entire control of the finally impenitent. God’s long-suffering has ended. The world has rejected His mercy, despised His love, and trampled upon His law. The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation; the Spirit of God, persistently resisted, has been at last withdrawn. Unsheltered by divine grace, they have no protection from the wicked one. Satan will then plunge the inhabitants of the earth into one great, final trouble. As the angels of God cease to hold in check the fierce winds of human passion, all the elements of strife will be let loose. The whole world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old.” Ibid.

Do you realize that in A.D. 69, when Cestius had surrounded Jerusalem problems were encountered in the homeland and the Romans suddenly withdrew? This was a sign that had been given by Jesus nearly forty years earlier. The Christians, following Jesus’ instructions, fled from the city and not one lost. The following year, Titus, another Roman general, again surrounded the city. Rather than attack the city, Titus resolved to starve the people out. Eventually things got so bad that people would try to slip out of the city gates at night just to find some grass to eat. If they were caught by the Romans, they were crucified in the area surrounding the city. It finally became so bad that the Roman soldiers had difficulty moving among the crosses, they had become so numerous. And, if they managed to escape the Romans and get back into the city, the people were killed by their own countrymen for the grass they had risked their lives to obtain.

Here, we read, however, that when God’s presence is finally withdrawn from the earth, it is going to be more terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old. Can we really fathom how terrible this world will be?

But even though God’s presence is withdrawn from the world, it is not withdrawn from His people. His presence is never withdrawn from His people.

“Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.” Revelation 18:8

“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” Matthew 24:22, This means that it will be worse than any other persecution that has ever come upon this earth. Are we really ready for this? It comes right down to your Christian experience and how much you depend upon the Lord Jesus Christ, because if you depend upon Him enough, then you will be able to stand, and this is the only way that you will be able to stand.

Do God’s people suffer during this time?

“The people of God will not be free from suffering; but while persecuted and distressed, while they endure privation and suffer for want of food, they will not be left to perish. That God who cared for Elijah will not pass by one of His self-sacrificing children. He who numbers the hairs of their head will care for them, and in time of famine they shall be satisfied. While the wicked are dying from hunger and pestilence, angels will shield the righteous and supply their wants. To him that ‘walketh righteously’ is the promise: ‘Bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.’” The Great Controversy, 629

“Some were denouncing God and cursing Him. Others rushed to the people of God and begged to be taught how they might escape His judgments. But the saints had nothing for them.” Early Writings, 281. Why are the saints unwilling to help? It is because probation has closed. “The last tear for sinners had been shed, the last agonizing prayer offered, the last burden borne, the last warning given. The sweet voice of mercy was no more to invite them. When the saints, and all heaven, were interested for their salvation, they had no interest for themselves. Life and death had been set before them. Many desired life, but made no effort to obtain it. They did not choose life, and now there was no atoning blood to cleanse the guilty, no compassionate Saviour to plead for them, and cry, ‘Spare, spare the sinner a little longer.’” Ibid.

We hear about the time of trouble, and then we hear about a special part of this time of trouble know as Jacob’s time of trouble. During Jacob’s night of wrestling, through the entire time he was struggling, he feared that his sin had not been forgiven. Though he had confessed and repented, he feared that he had not obtained forgiveness. During this time of trouble, God’s people realize that there is no more forgiveness for sins. There is the awful realization that they are either saved, or lost, and that the plan of salvation is over. They will also be concerned as to whether they failed to do anything during the time of salvation. They will realize that should they fail, God will be dishonored, and this will bring a torture of mind we do not now comprehend. Though it is a terrible ordeal for God’s people, it is a time for them to look up in faith. The person who has in these times of relative peace and prosperity developed perfect faith in God, will not then be as severely tried as those who have failed to gain this experience.

Right now the Lord is allowing trials and troubles to come to us to develop the faith we will need to stand in the final time of the great test. God wants us to learn to live moment by moment in perfect peace because of our confidence in Him.

“When Christ shall cease His work as mediator in man’s behalf, then this time of trouble will begin. Then the case of every soul will have been decided, and there will be no atoning blood to cleanse from sin.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 201

Friends, we must get our eyes off of the things of this world and no longer allow the things that people are saying against us, or the problems that come against us in our daily lives, to bother us, but to turn them over to the Lord. We have to give up the concern that we have, that if we turn it over to the Lord, it may not turn out as we want it to.

“As Satan influenced Esau to march against Jacob, so he will stir up the wicked to destroy God’s people in the time of trouble. And as he accused Jacob, he will urge his accusations against the people of God. He numbers the world as his subjects; but the little company who keep the commandments of God are resisting his supremacy. If he could blot them from the earth, his triumph would be complete. He sees that holy angels are guarding them, and he infers that their sins have been pardoned; but he does not know that their cases have been decided in the sanctuary above. He has an accurate knowledge of the sins which he has tempted them to commit, and he presents these before God in the most exaggerated light, representing this people to be just as deserving as himself of exclusion from the favor of God. He declares that the Lord cannot in justice forgive their sins and yet destroy him and his angels. He claims them as his prey and demands that they be given into his hands to destroy.

“As Satan accuses the people of God on account of their sins, the Lord permits him to try them to the uttermost. Their confidence in God, their faith and firmness, will be severely tested. As they review the past, their hopes sink; for in their whole lives they can see little good. They are fully conscious of their weakness and unworthiness. Satan endeavors to terrify them with the thought that their cases are hopeless, that the stain of their defilement will never be washed away. He hopes so to destroy their faith that they will yield to his temptations and turn from their allegiance to God.

“Though God’s people will be surrounded by enemies who are bent upon their destruction, yet the anguish which they suffer is not a dread of persecution for the truth’s sake; they fear that every sin has not been repented of, and that through some fault in themselves they will fail to realize the fulfillment of the Saviour’s promise: ‘I will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world.’ Revelation 3:10. If they could have the assurance of pardon, they would not shrink from torture of death; but should they prove unworthy, and lose their lives because of their own defects of character, then God’s holy name would be reproached.” The Great Controversy, 618,619

When Moses saw the great apostasy of the people of Israel in the wilderness when they worshipped the golden calf, he chose rather to die himself than to have the people destroyed and bring reproach upon God. This is the concern that people of God will have for the honor of God’s name in these trying times.

“Those who exercise but little faith now, are in the greatest danger of falling under the power of satanic delusions and the decree to compel the conscience. And even if they endure the test, they will be plunged into deeper distress and anguish in the time of trouble, because they have never made it a habit to trust in God. The lessons of faith which they have neglected they will be force to learn under a terrible pressure of discouragement.” The Great Controversy, 622

Are you ready to give God every portion of your life? Are you ready to say, “Lord, prepare me for the time of trouble. Help me to be willing to give these little things that happen to me every day, over to You and to learn to trust You implicitly”? If we cannot in confidence do this now, we will not be able to stand in the time of trouble which all of God’s faithful must soon meet.

The End

The Four Prerequisites for Unity

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Surrounded by the eleven men who were going to be responsible for taking the gospel of His grace to the whole world, Jesus offered the prayer for them that we find recorded in John 17. This prayer, however, is not for those eleven men alone, because verse 20 says; “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.” All who believe in Jesus are included, because we only know of Him through the testimony of these men.

Jesus continues: “That they all may be one, as You, father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” All the way to the end of His prayer inverse 26, the primary point for which Jesus expressed great concern was that there might be unity among His people.

Unity is not just something that is important; it is something the must take place before Jesus comes again. It is so important that Ellen White has told us that if we do not press together in unity, we will be destroyed.

In studying this subject, I have found that a number of areas are included. In this article we will explore two of them.

From time to time, I have been asked to meet with various individuals in administration in the Seventh-day Adventist Church organization. While I would be glad to meet with these men, I cannot do it unless some conditions are met. We can have no unity with the various branches of the organization until four things have first taken place. The first two areas which we sill consider in this article, are repentance and confession.

What do we need to repent of? We need to repent for having wandered into doctrinal error, or heresy. There was a time when the head of our medical work, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, wandered into some theological positions that were not sound. Not only were they not sound, they would have destroyed Adventism had they been accepted, as was pointed out by Ellen White.

“I leave this matter as it now stand; for I am pained beyond measure because our brother’s spiritual views ate not founded on a solid basis. The man can never be relied upon in the future, unless heart and soul, mind and strength, are entirely changed, revamped. As matters now stand, I can not see how there can be Christian unity between the medical missionary work as led by those in error, and the gospel ministry. There can be no unity without a decided change in the one who has stood as leader of our medical work.” Series B, 7,54 [All emphasis supplied.]

Notice that she said that he could never be trusted in the future. It is no different today. When a minister or leader wanders into doctrinal heresy, he can not be trusted unless he decides to repent of his error and that fact has been demonstrated by a full confession. Our problem is that we have grown up in a public relations era where people believe that you can smooth everything over with a veneer and after a time everyone will forget and life can go on, but this is not the gospel.

Because of their desire for harmony, many people are tempted to seek a type of unity with those whom they know to be in error. The devil wants us to harmonize with error, but there is a grave danger in doing so, and we must not do it.

“Oh, how deceptive is the human heart! How easy it is to harmonize with that which is evil! There is nothing more detrimental to the soul’s interest, its purity, its true and holy conceptions of God, and of sacred and eternal things, than constantly giving heed to and exalting that which is not form God. It poisons the heart, and degrades the understanding.” Selected Messages, book 2, 78

What does it mean to repent? In the Greek language, the word for repentance comes form a word that means a change of mind. In other word, you change your mind about sin, and when repentance is genuine, you will change you life. That is why we are told that genuine repentance is followed by reformation. See The Desire of Ages, 555. If there is no reformation in the life, then there has not been true repentance.

If, however, we are too proud to confess, if we are too proud to repent, we can never come into unity.

It is so easy for people who have been Christians for a long time, and have not been living openly immoral lives, to think that somehow they no longer need to confess. This is especially true of those in positions of trust. Minister, however, need to study the subject of repentance and confession just as much as anyone else, and maybe more, because their position makes repentance and confession so much more difficult to do.

“If when the Lord reveals your errors you do not repent or make confession, His providence will bring you over the ground again and again. You will be left to make mistakes of a similar character, you will continue to lack wisdom, and will call sin righteousness, and righteousness sin. The multitude of deceptions that will prevail in these last days will encircle you, [she is talking to ministers here] and you will change leaders, and not know that you have done so.

“I ask you who are handling sacred things, I ask the individual members of the church, Have you confessed your sins?” Review and Herald, December 16, 1890

It is a dangerous thing, when God reveals to a person something in their life that is wrong, for that person not to accept it with repentance and confession. When this takes place, the thinking becomes distorted so that sin appears as righteousness and righteousness as sin. It is even possible for a minister to continue preaching and call himself a Seventh-day Adventist, but to have changed leaders without realizing it. Instead of following Christ, he has become a part of Satan’s organization.

Confession is absolutely vital and of all people, ministers should be the most diligent to be sure that their sins are repented of and confessed.

“Confess your faults to one another, that you may be healed. How many there are who are carrying a load of unconfessed wrongdoing. They try to shape matters so that their dignity will not be hurt. To make wrongs right from the very first departure, looks to them like extinguishing themselves.” Signs of the Times, October 30, 1901

Where am I to go back to, to get things made right? To the very first departure from the right. This is a critical point to understand when you want to have unity. Some people ask, “Why can’t we all just all get together?”

Before we can get together in unity, we are going to have to go back to where the departure was and make it right.

Let me just give and illustration that has to do with this. Have you ever had somebody ask you, “Why can’t you just associate and fellowship with the Seventh-day Baptists? What is the difference?” Oh, there is a big difference between Seventh-day Baptists and Seventh-day Adventists. The difference is that in the 1840s, the Seventh-day Baptists did not accept the first angel’s message. When you do not accept the first angel’s message, you are not in a position to accept the second angel’s message. If you do not accept the second angel’s message, you are no in a position to accept the third angel’s messages which are present truth for today.

I worked with and evangelist once who told me that when you are explaining something sensitive, always put it on the other foot. Do not every make the person you are talking with appear in a bad light. If you are talking with Methodists, do not talk about the Methodists, talk about the Baptists or some other group, or the person to whom you are speaking is very apt to take it personally and you will have a barrier of prejudice to overcome before you can reach them. I just followed that principle. I have not talked to you about Seventh-day Adventists, but if you follow this principle through, it applies in Adventism.

“Men have in their minds justified the course that was then taken. They have viewed things, from beginning to end, in a altogether false light; and form the present showing, the same course will be followed in the future.” Spalding-Magan Collection, 178

These words are part of an appeal to our leading ministers to repent and confess of what we had done wrong. Some people urge charity and express a concern that it is hurtful to those involved to discuss these things, but notice what we are told about true charity.

“True charity never covers up unrepented and unconfessed sins.” Signs of the Times, May 11, 1876

“While we should manifest Christian courtesy, we are authorized to call sin and sinners by their right names—that this is consistent with true charity. While we are to love the souls for whom Christ died, and labor for their salvation, we should not make a compromise with sin. We are not to unite with the rebellious, and call this charity. God requires His people in this age of the world to stand, as did john in his time, unflinchingly for the right, in opposition to soul destroying errors.” Sanctified Life, 65

Some people believe that it is wrong to name names, but that is not what we are told by inspiration. It is necessary that they be named so that other people will no be led astray. We are to call sin and sinners by their right name and appeal to them to repent. We are to denounce what they are doing so that the Holy Spirit can convict their minds to repent and confess their sins, because we are very close to the time when there will longer be an opportunity to confess our sin, to repent.

Friend, in Adventism today, there is a lot to repent of and much to confess, but there can never be unity unless these steps are first followed.

“When Brother G once takes a position on the wrong side, it is not easy for him to confess that he has error; but if he can let his wrong course pass out of his mind and pass from the memory of others, and he can make some changes for the better without an open acknowledgement of his wrong, he will do so. But all these errors and unconfessed sins stand registered in heaven and will not be blotted out until he complies with the directions given in the word of God: ‘Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.’” Testimonies, vol. 4, 241

Do you see what it is that is blocking us from having unity? Can we deny that there has been scheming and prevarication in Adventism in the last few years? These things make unity impossible.

“He would teach His people that disobedience and sin are exceedingly offensive to Him and are not to be lightly regarded. He shows us that when His people are found in sin they should at once take decided measures to put that sin from them, that His frown may not rest upon them all. Bur if the sins of the people are passed over by those in responsible positions, His frown will be upon them, and the people of God, as a body, will be held responsible for those sins.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 265

The plain, straight testimony must live in the church, or the curse of God will rest upon His people as surely as it did upon ancient Israel because of their sins. God holds his people, as a body, responsible for the sins existing in individuals among them. If the leaders of the church neglect to diligently search our the sins which bring the displeasure of God upon the body, they become responsible for these sins.” Ibid. 269

Now, friends, if you understand very much at all about church history, that statement should put a great load on you. Do you have any idea of some of the things that have happened in Adventism that, as far as I can find out, have never been repented of or confessed?

What was happening in the 50s, 60s, and 70s?

Remember when the book Questions on Doctrine came out in the 1950s, introducing heresy?

Remember what took place in the Mary Kay Silvers case in the 1970s? Was it right? We have been defending it ever since. I have a whole booklet in my library defending what we did. I read the booklet and then read the accounts of what had happened and when I finished, I said, “It was not right.”

Somebody may say, “Well, she did this, that and the other.” It does not matter what the other person has done. You don not have to answer for what she did, but if we were a member of the organization at that time, we are going to have to answer for what we have don, or allowed others to do in our church, without protest. I think we have more repenting and confessing to do than many of us have ever imagined. I think that if we want to be ready for the Lord to come, we had better figure out what we are going to do and start doing something about everything that comes to our notice.

In the 1980s there was John Marik who was put in prison for religious reasons. This action was initiated by the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and I have paper work confirming this. That was a sin, friends, and what we did is registered in the book of heaven.

The first thing that is essential to unity is repentance.

Someone may ask, “Pastor John, are you speaking only about the organization?” No, I am not denying that there may be things for which I need to repent. If there are blind spots in my character that I do not see, for which I need to repent, then someone among god’s people who loves me needs to point them out to me, so that I can repent. Unity will never be obtained without repentance, and true repentance will always be followed by confession.

“All sin unrepented of and unconfessed will remain upon the books of record. It will not be blotted out, it will not go beforehand to judgement, to be canceled by the atoning blood of Jesus. The accumulated sins of every individual will be written with absolute accuracy.” Review and Herald, March 27, 1888

We are living in the Day of Atonement. Are you reviewing your life? Are you asking, “Lord, did I think a thought , speak a word or do anything today that was not pleasing in Your sight?”

If you will begin the process of repenting and confessing your faults and mistakes, you will find that it becomes progressively easier. It is certainly humbling, but as with many difficult things, it is always hardest at first.

Some of you may feel overwhelmed as you consider the formidable task before you and be tempted to say, “pastor John, if I follow your advice on repenting and confessing of sin, I would not even get all my sins repented of and confessed before the Lord comes; there are too many!” but, god is the One who said this and if you co not know how to get it all done, you had better talk to Him about it. All I can do is share with you what the Lord said. Ask the Lord to help you to get it done. The sooner you get started, the sooner you will finish.

About this time, one of the questions that makes people very nervous is, “What if I cannot remember? Am I then shut out of the kingdom of heaven?”

The Bible says: “For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.” 2 Corinthians 8:12. If you have a willingness in your mind and will make a commitment with the Lord, the Holy Spirit will point out to you what you need to do to be right with God. The problem is not with our memories because god can supply our deficiencies. The real problem is that we need to have a mind that is willing to make things right.

“There are those who are supposed to be excellent men, but they have some flaw in their character which, under special temptation, becomes as a dead fly in the ointment. The whole character will be perverted by one unconfessed sin.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 13, 190

If we allow one sin in our life that is not confessed and repented of, that one sin will flaw the entire character. In Testimonies, vol. 5, 53, we are told that one sin will neutralize all the power of the gospel.

Ellen White once wrote to an elderly person who was living in sin, but who had not long to live. She said, “The sands of your life are nearly run out, and now if you will come to God just as you are, without one plea but that He has died to save the chiefest of sinners you will find pardon even in this the eleventh hour.” Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, 133

Oh, friend, whatever your situation, whatever the sin in your life, even if it is the eleventh hour of your life, you can come to Jesus and repent and confess and find forgiveness for your sin. The gospel is a wonderful thing. Not only can you find forgiveness from your sins, but you can find power to live a new life, to no longer live in sin.

“Christ did not die to have power to cover transgression unrepented of and unconfessed. Not all sins are to be confessed publicly, but some are to be confessed alone to God and the parties that have been injured.” Ibid.

We need to pray: “Lord whatever You have to do with me to prepared me for heaven, whatever experience I have to go through, whatever trial, whatever happens, please, Lord, do not let me die in sin.” If you die with your mistakes concealed and unconfessed, you are lost.

“The mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for all who love Him, will be peopled by those who are free from sin. But sins that are not confessed will never be forgiven; the name of him who thus rejects the grace of God will be blotted out of the book of life.” Ibid.

Friend, I am willing for you to correct me on anything that you can find from inspired writings, but if I am correct, we have a lot more repenting and confessing to do than most of us have ever had any idea of and we had better pray and ask the Lord to help us to get it done. We are either going to confess it now, or after the millennium. By the grace of God, let us begin now.

The End

Made Perfect in Weakness

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I was sitting with a gentleman who had traveled a good many miles to spend a little time in counsel and study. He was a new Christian and had just a few weeks previous heard the Seventh-day Adventist message; so he had a number of questions to ask. He was burdened about the healing of someone connected with the group he had been with that had cancer and he was anxious to have him healed. It was apparent from his questions that he thought that according to the Scripture if a man had enough faith that there would certainly be no question about the healing. So together we opened the word of God and began to look at some things.

First we looked at 2 Timothy 4:20. This is an interesting question: If we have enough faith, will we and the people we pray for be healed and if not, does it prove that we or the individual prayed for lacks faith? Here Paul is writing from Rome to Timothy, his dearly beloved son in the ministry. “Erastus (one of Paul’s helpers) abode in Corinth: Trophimus (another fellow minister) have I left in Miletus sick.” I asked my new friend, Why did Paul, who had healed many people, go off and leave Trophimus sick in Miletus? The Bible does not say, but the point is that Paul certainly had faith enough to heal hundreds perhaps thousands of people but somehow Trophimus was not healed.

In 1 Timothy 5:23 is an earlier letter Paul wrote to Timothy apparently dealing with some sick spells that Timothy suffered from time to time. He did not tell Timothy that he needed to pray more or have more faith but gives him some practical suggestions. “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine” that is, pure grape juice, “for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.” This was not just once that Timothy felt bad, under the weather as we would say, but it happened every now and then. Paul said, Timothy, you need something more than water; get some grape juice when you feel like this for your often infirmities.

My new friend began to see some things in the Bible that he had not seen before. We considered the experience of the apostle Paul himself. In the earlier part of 2 Corinthians 12, Paul describes some of the wonderful visions that the Lord gave him of the glorious things in heaven. But in the 7th through 10th verses he describes the program that God allowed him to be on so that he would not get exalted about what he had seen. “Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” Notice, He did not say Paul, the matter with you is that you don’t have enough faith; you haven’t prayed enough. No!

The apostle Paul, one of the greatest men of faith, perhaps, in all the sacred Scripture history, was not only able to heal hundreds of people and win thousands to Christ, but we read that he, himself, had to put up with infirmities. After he prayed so earnestly about it, finally the Lord said, Paul, that’s enough! God was more anxious to save Paul than He was to heal him. Apparently, God saw that if Paul was too full of zip and energy and had these wonderful revelations and felt good every day he might get exalted. It was exultation that caused Lucifer’s fall, but do not misunderstand—a person who is exalted does not have to fall. Lucifer did not have to fall. Because of the abundance of the revelation Paul was given from God, it was safer for his salvation that the thorn in Paul’s flesh remain there. He said that it was going to hurt you every now and then, but never mind, I’ve got it all taken care of. “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

With this new information my friend said he did not know how to put it all together. He asked, “What thermometer is there for measuring faith? The man had in his mind that the more faith a person had, the more answers to prayer there would be and if they prayed for people and they got well, it would prove they had a lot of faith and if they did not get well, the faith thermometer would show that the temperature was not very high. I suggested that my friend was actually thinking about hope. Hope and faith are not the same thing at all. I can hope for a lot of things, but one must understand what faith is. Romans 10:17 tells how faith comes, what it is based on: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

The word faith is sometimes used in a rather loose way. We may speak of a man buying some stocks on the stock exchange and say that he has faith in that company. I would say that he had hope in it, and faith after a fashion, but when the Bible talks about faith, it is not talking about believing in something; it is believing that what God has promised will come to pass. That is faith.

Now I can hope for all kinds of things, but I can only have faith when the thing that I ask for and expect is what God has promised. My friend began to understand and began to help me finish the little study I was sharing with him. His mind was led to the Savior’s prayer in Gethsemane when three times Jesus prayed that the cup might pass, but each time he added, “Nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt” (Luke 22:42, literal translation). Certainly Jesus did not lack faith. In fact, He exhibited the highest expression of faith. Can you think of any greater expression of faith? Jesus was there in the garden, faced with that awful agony and longing to be relieved from it and hoping that He might be. Yet His faith said, Father, I know that You will do the thing that is best; so not what I ask, but what You will be done. He had taken our humanity and in our human flesh He was crying out. Only the burden that He carried was infinitely heavier than ours.

There is wonderful encouragement as you meditate on that promise to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:8: “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.” Most everyone has pleaded with God for relief from a problem or concern, maybe physical, or mental concern, or some spiritual struggle. Paul had that experience and “He [God] said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (verse 9). He did not honor the apostle’s faith by taking away the thing that Paul longed to get rid of, but He gave him the grace to bear it and to go ahead and accomplish something for God with that thorn in the flesh afflicting him.

My heart thrills that I can bring you this wonderful fact: that you do not have to wait until you get your problems solved to come to God. You do not have to wait until God removes all the difficulties from your life before you step out to do something for Him. The glorious good news of the gospel is this: No matter what situation you are in, no matter how many problems surround you, no matter how many weaknesses and infirmities you have, God has a way to use you right where you are with all the difficulties and problems that beset and upset you. God has a way to do it. His grace is indeed sufficient for you.

There are people who have been praying a lot longer than Paul prayed for something to be removed from their life so they could do something, but Jesus said, My grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in your weakness. Do you have weakness to deal with? Well, He has got the strength to go with it! Which is bigger, your weakness or His strength? Our infinite God has infinite power, infinite might and infinite strength. If you were ten times as weak as you are, He could still handle the matter. Oh, you may say, I wish that He would do it so that I would just feel strong, but Paul said, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Dear friends, it would be far better to have God work through a weak man than to be strong and God not have so much chance to work. Some may say, But can God not work through a strong man? Yes, He could if they would let Him. But remember Samson, the strongest man that ever lived. God had him born for that very job and he was given strength for that job, but God had a very hard time with Samson. I believe the reason God had this story recorded was so that you and I could understand that being strong is not always the answer; it has its problem. It is so easy for a strong man, whether it is strong in muscle or strong in any other way, to depend upon that strength instead of the power of God. There have been plenty of weak men who have accomplished far more than Samson ever did.

Think of Solomon’s uniqueness. He was the wisest man that ever lived, but do you know of anybody that ever did any more foolish things than he did? What was his problem? Solomon got to the place where he depended on his own wisdom instead of the Source of his wisdom. He had the right answer so many times that he got to the place where he thought he always had the right answer.

Some of us thank the Lord that we get the wrong answer often enough to humble us. If that is what it takes, so be it. I so wish that God could trust a lot of us with much more power and strength and wisdom than we had ever thought of having. He would like to, for God takes no pleasure in our sickness, our infirmities, these thorns in the flesh. He would like to deliver all of us from ulcers, cancers, high blood pressure, nervous breakdowns, and all the rest of our infirmities. He would like to lift us out of every trial and difficulty. When we weep, He weeps. But listen, He is taking the long view; He wants to save us and He would rather that we have some problems now that help us to feel our need of Him and stay close to Him and be saved at last than miss that fellowship throughout all eternity.

“He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” And if that means hobbling along with one lung, it is all right. It is better to go to heaven with one lung than to miss it with two. It is better to be used in God’s work with one leg or even no legs at all, one hand or no hands at all; it is better to be used in God’s work, to spend our time and energy working for the world which will come to an end with all kinds of handicaps than it is to be strong and healthy and full of vigor and do nothing.

Why, think of Ellen G. White, the young woman called at 17 to be God’s messenger to the remnant and to the world. This was God’s channel through which these wonderful revelations for the last generation were to be given, and whom does He pick out? The weakest of the weak. There were others that were called before her. They were educated, they were strong, they had the things that she lacked, but she had what they lacked. God chose to use her weakness because He could not get full opportunity to use their strength and wisdom. Finally, when the Lord kept pressing her on accepting this call, young Ellen prayed, Oh Lord, I know there are others that You have used and they have been exalted and lost their way. Oh Lord, if this is what you want me to do, will you please keep me from being exalted? God heard her prayer and He said, Your prayer is heard and it will be done, and if you are in danger of being exalted, trials and things will come that will humble you.

Look at her life. From Portland, Maine, to St. Helena, California, from 1844 to her call unto 1915, her final call, her call to rest, is one long series of difficulties and problems. Think of the diseases that she suffered, her experience with tuberculosis, cancer, heart trouble, neuritis and all kinds of afflictions. Think of her sorrow and bereavement, losing her little baby in her arms, losing her teenage oldest son, Henry, a beautiful singer at the age of 16. Think of her husband, cut down in the prime of life, leaving her to struggle on through many years. Nevertheless, God always sustained her. Think of the many problems she had with those that should have appreciated her message and instead circulated lies about her, or what was sometimes even more frustrating, to see those she was instructed to help simply have read the messages and put them aside, doing nothing about it. Problem after problem!

Think of the financial burden in New England and New York as a young wife with her husband, when it was hard to know just how to get enough food to keep them living from day to day, as they were struggling to get the publishing work started and to preach the message. Abundance of revelations, yes. Abundance of afflictions, yes. Some people would rather have fewer revelations and fewer trials and some people are content to have no trials and no revelations. But thank God, the apostle Paul, called by the Master Himself, got the view and He was willing to accept God’s program. He was willing to let God use what he had regardless of what it cost him. He did not wait until he got strong but allowed God to use his weakness. More was accomplished by him than ten strong men could have done.

What are you struggling with? Whatever it is, it is your privilege to pray as Paul did, Lord, please remove this. God may do it; He does sometimes. God answers prayer. “Sometimes when hearts are weak, He gives the very gift believers seek; but often faith must learn a deeper rest, and trust God’s silence when He does not speak.” Myra G. Plantz, (1856–1914).

Oh, let me tell you, friends, if short division is learning to get answers to your prayers so that you see the answers, long division is learning to pray when the answers are not apparent, while still maintaining your faith. If kindergarten is praying and things happen just like that, real school is getting down to the practical business of letting God use your weakness to magnify His strength. “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10). [Emphasis added.] What a paradox! Let us be willing for God to use us, all there is of us.

If you have a problem, whatever it is – whether tobacco or liquor or any other problem concerning some physical craving, perhaps it’s overeating, what is your prayer? Do you pray, oh Lord, deliver me from this craving and I’ll never fall again? There is nothing wrong with asking God to remove the craving for any of these things, but we must always pray, nevertheless, not as I will but as You will. Remember, there is one thing that we can know is always God’s will, and that is for you to have victory. There is no question about that. Can you furnish the weakness? Well, let God furnish the strength. Put Him to the test, His strength is made perfect in weakness.

A man may come face to face with God’s message for today and see that the seventh day is the Sabbath and that God’s true creation Sabbath is the seal of the living God. He sees that it is a great issue in this last generation but asks, What can I do? I have got to make a living; I have got to support my family and the job that I have requires me to work at least part of the time during the 24 hours from Friday sundown till Saturday sundown. What can I do? He may pray and get his family to pray and he may get others to pray, Lord, open the way so I can keep your commandment. This is a good prayer. He steps out in faith and obeys his conviction and says, “Dear Lord, I’m going to obey You whether I know how it will work out or not.”

Another man’s problem is losing his temper. Every now and then he tells his family off, he scolds his children and talks mean to his wife. He feels sorry about it and gets down on his knees and prays, “Oh Lord, help me; I wish You would take that angry temper out of me so that I would never feel mad again and always feel like a meek lamb for this is what I want.” He means it and God hears his prayer but the way God answers may not be to fix him up so that he never feels anything but a lamb. The book of Romans teaches that it is possible for the righteousness of the law to be fulfilled in us even though the flesh is clamoring against the spirit (Romans 8:4). Thank God the Spirit can rule in our lives if we allow it to. There are many people with angry tempers, but believe this wonderful promise of God that you do not have to act like you feel. You do not have to say everything that you feel like saying. There is victory in Jesus Christ. It is not necessarily the victory of a calm summer evening with everything peaceful and feeling that this is wonderful and I wouldn’t want to hurt anybody. No, but the victory comes in knowing that we don’t have to act like we feel, that we can talk about Jesus and His love. Victory is, if necessary, to close our lips through faith in God and say nothing rather than dishonor our Redeemer.

Whatever your problem, whether it be physical, mental or spiritual, pray anything you want and ask God for any method of deliverance, but remember to ask as did Jesus, Nevertheless, not as I will but as Thou wilt. I wish I didn’t have to drink the cup but if that is the way then I’ll drink it. I wish I could feel strong, but if it is necessary for me to feel weak lest I be exalted above measure, Lord, I’ll carry that thorn in the flesh, I’ll let Your strength be made perfect in weakness. And if I can’t be as strong as Samson, if I’m as weak as Ellen Harmon was back there in Portland, Maine, in 1844, I say, here I am Lord; use whatever you can of me and I’ll let Your name and Your throne get the glory.

Step out in faith today and do what God says no matter how you feel, and if you believe God will give you the strength, you will find victory. Jesus is our wonderful Savior; He will carry you through.

Elder W.D. Frazee studied the Medical Missionary Course at the College of Medical Evangelists in Loma Linda, California. He was called to Utah as a gospel medical evangelist. During the Great Depression, when the church could not afford to hire any assistants, Elder Frazee began inviting professionals to join him as volunteers. This began a faith ministry that would become the foundation for the establishment of the Wildwood Medical Missionary Institute in 1942. He believed that each person is unique, specially designed by the Lord, of infinite value, and has a special place and mission in this world which only he can fill. His life followed this principle and he encouraged others to do the same.

Holiness The Fabric of Society

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When we look at the Scriptures, we realize that they are called the Holy Scriptures. When we speak of the Holy Spirit, we must never forget that He is the Holy Spirit. When we speak about the Sabbath, we speak of the holy Sabbath; and God said of His people, “You are a holy people unto Me.”

The book of Hebrews dwells largely on the earthly sanctuary, which was the ritual, the process, that God gave to the Israelite people in the Old Testament, and then to us the heavenly sanctuary, to emphasize the plan of salvation—how it works and what the holiness of God really is. It is through this system that we learn how to approach a holy God when we have been involved in sin.

“For they [our fathers] verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He [God] for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.” “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:10,14

If we do not follow after holiness, we will never see the Lord; we will never be in heaven. It will only be a holy people who inherit heaven and the new earth. It therefore behooves us, in the day in which we live, and age like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, to understand by personal experience what holiness is. In order to do this, we must have our thinking shaped all the way through with the concepts of holiness from the Scriptures.

The time brought to view in Isaiah 6 was a time of crisis for the people of God. The outlook was dismal and the future looked dark indeed. But, the Lord gave to Isaiah a vision of His holiness and His majesty in that hour of crisis. “In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.” Isaiah 6:1-3. What a message at an hour of darkness and crisis!

We are facing an hour of darkness on this earth when the darkness of the apostasy will become as black as midnight, impenetrable as the sackcloth of hair, but God’s people are called upon to, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.” Isaiah 60:1

It is interesting to note that the angels, in crying to one another, did not cry, “Love, love, love.” The Bible does not substitute love for holiness. Though love is God’s self-communicating attribute and character, His holiness always dominates, controls and directs His love.

Holiness is self-affirming purity, something that this generation has lost sight of. In the place of holiness, it has sought to substitute love, failing to clearly distinguish that holiness must dominate, direct and control love. As a result, we live in a generation that has lost its respect for purity and holiness and has immersed itself in the immorality of Sodom and Gomorrah. This will inevitably result in a totalitarian world state.

Holiness, according to the Spirit of Prophecy, is wholeness for God. As it was not in Rome’s interest to promote holiness, she withheld the Holy Scriptures from the people. This understanding of true holiness involves separation from all uncleanness and impurity and, of necessity, from the world. It was the Puritans’ understanding of this concept, leading them to strive for obedience to the law of God, that made them so powerful in their opposition to the Papacy.

At Vatican II, the principles of communism gained control of the Catholic Church, and particularly of the Jesuit order. The position taken in Vatican II regarding the non-Christian religions called for involving everyone, even the pagan and spiritualistic religions, in the ecumenical movement. The Jesuits were deeply involved in fostering the peace and anti-war movement, as well as the hippie movement. It is always the concept of every revolution to gain the thinking of the young people, and immediately after Vatican II, we had the student generation in revolt. Youth who belonged to middle class families suddenly joined communes. This revolt was an international phenomenon, a tremendous twisting of the thinking of the young people. Very rapidly these principles expanded out over the youth generation.

It is interesting to note that it was at this time that the Youth’s Instructor was discarded for Insight magazine and major changes came into our own Adventist structure regarding how to deal with the youth. The battle cry on the college campuses (I was on them at that time) was, “You’ve got to be relevant.” What they meant was “relative to the world.”

Suddenly the message was no longer so much one of preaching salvation, calling people to the Word of God, calling them to holiness and purity and standing on the platform of the everlasting gospel, but rather a discarding of personal piety; a going into the inner cities, doing social gospel. The social gospel supplanted the everlasting gospel and the Jesuits were very fundamental in bringing about this change.

Just before Nazism took control of Germany, there was a hippie movement among the youth. Middle class young people suddenly left their homes, drifted around the countryside and read the philosophy of Nietsche. The philosophy of Nietsche, with his concept of replacing God with self, is now the main philosophy that Americans have accepted. The man on the street who does not even know the name Nietsche has accepted his philosophy. Now the psychiatry and psychology of our day has replaced religion, to a large extent. The self-help, self-esteem movement and the church growth movement which has brought into it these philosophies, is dominating the churches and the whole nation is being smothered with this.

It is interesting to note, that, according to Professor Allen Bloom, the very concept which originated over in Europe, resulting in Nazism, was imported into America right about the time of World War II with the flight of many German professors from the universities in Germany. They were fleeing from Hitler, but they brought with them the germs of the same thinking that brought Hitler to power. Upon their arrival, they took significant positions in our American Universities, spreading their ideology throughout society.

In the Review, July 1, 1993, the question is asked: “How should we warn the world; with billboards, magazine inserts, and books like The Great Controversy?” The article goes on to question whether we should rent billboards, place ads on subway cars in the U.S. capital or buy inserts in secular magazines to openly unveil error or question churches as being false. The question is posed: Shall we mass distribute Ellen White’s book, The Great Controversy, which clearly calls the Roman Catholic Church the dragon-controlled beast of Revelation 13? It is then pointed out that in years past, certain Adventist groups and individuals have tried all of these methods.

I can understand that people who have had their thinking developed along certain lines might have a problem with billboards, but it is shocking, to say the very least, to have the distribution of The Great Controversy questioned.

The article, written by Paul Gordon, had as its basic thrust that, because we live in an ecumenical age when it is not welcome within the Christian community to speak against another church or its doctrines, we must, therefore, have a very careful approach, and he seems to be questioning the mass distribution of The Great Controversy. That which makes this most interesting is the fact that he is the secretary of the Ellen G. White Estate at Silver Springs, Maryland.

I would submit that if we do not understand what holiness—wholeness for God—really is and define our position and our activities solely with reference to a position of wholeness toward God and the Word of God, we will ultimately come to the other side of the great controversy.

God wants not only truth preached, but He wants error exposed so that people can find their way. The question we must consider is, are we going to let our activity be dictated and molded by ecumenical consciousness or will it be dictated and shaped by holiness—wholeness for God—and a complete dependence on His Word? Will we be daily asking, “Lord, what is the message that You want me to preach?”

The generations of Americans who made America great were generations that were founded in Christian concepts. They were founded in concepts of right and wrong, of personal purity and holiness. In our nation, we have a heritage that rests upon the effort of thousands of men of God over a period of centuries seeking after practical holiness. This is particularly true of the Puritan era. It was this seeking after practical holiness that developed the quality of character that led to obedience to God’s law—self-control under God. It was this quality, more than any other, that ultimately gave them the ability to found a great nation on these shores; a nation that promoted liberty and justice for all.

Holiness is fundamental to liberty, for involved in holiness is integrity and justice. These qualities of holiness confirm the soul in its fullness for God, who is the only source of liberty. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” 2 Corinthians 3:17, and that is the only place where liberty truly is. When, however, people forsake the concept of God’s holiness and fail to understand what personal holiness is by experiencing it in their own lives, those people are headed for totalitarianism and slavery.

The demise of these Christian principles has changed the whole face of an entire generation in this nation, and we now have a baby-boomer president, as well as vice-president, with these same kinds of philosophies. We are facing an onslaught of the New Age Movement with its spiritualism that is going to suffocate the exercise of conscience in our nation.

Holiness is the quality that our generation has lost. They wanted to supplant love for holiness, but what happened? They were the love children, the flower children. They had Woodstock, with all types of impurity being practiced. Those of you who have any knowledge of anyone who was involved in that movement know the degradation and impurity of that culture and thinking. And, even the people who were not hippies, per se, were still influenced in their thinking process by this movement.

The destruction of holiness in the baby-boomer, hippie generation has rendered its soul to the machinations of Satan and we see a flood of the occult. Whole sections of bookstores are now devoted to this type of material. Thinking of academia is being shaped by it, as is that of the churches. The eradication of holiness leaves the soul defenseless and open to demonic influence.

What has happened to music is another dimension of what has been taking place in our society, because the impact has been felt in every area of culture and the arts. This generation has abandoned holiness and has opened up its soul to rock music, inspired by demons, and is setting itself up for control under the tyranny of Satan.

The most fundamental attribute of God is His holiness, and this holiness of God is the attribute of God that is most damaged in people’s understanding by the hippie, New Age, occult and spiritualistic philosophy.

When we examine the spiritualistic, love doctrine from the Biblical perspective, we see that the idea of love, love, love, without it being controlled and informed and having its substance in holiness, means being involved in the spiritualistic, spiritual love doctrine of the last days, the most dangerous form of spiritualism.

“He who could appear clothed with the brightness of the heavenly seraphs before Christ in the wilderness of temptation, came to men in the most attractive manner as an angel of light. He appeals to the reason by the presentation of elevation themes; he delights the fancy with enrapturing scenes; and he enlists the affections by his eloquent portrayals of love and charity. He excites the imagination to lofty flights, leading men to take so great pride in their own wisdom that in their hearts they despise the Eternal One. That mighty being who could take the world’s Redeemer to an exceedingly high mountain and bring before Him all the kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them, will present his temptations to men in a manner to pervert the senses of all who are not shielded by divine power.” The Great Controversy, 554

As the people of God enter the end of all things on this earth, they will proclaim the Sabbath more fully. (See Early Writings, 85.) It is for one reason: the Sabbath is a holy day. It is a continual reminder of the call of God “Ye shall be a holy people unto Me, for I the Lord am Holy.” Leviticus 20:26. The Sabbath separates the Sabbath-keeper in holiness because separation from all iniquity is fundamental to holiness.

Sanctification, the experience of true holiness, was hit hard by the new Theology in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The New Theology, form the perspective I witnessed it from in the seminary, made it clear to me that we had a whole generation of preachers coming out who were going to be moving into the structure, who had the concepts of the New Theology and wanted to take over the church from the inside out. This is what has happened.

This change can be traced back not only to the doctrine regarding the nature of Christ, the nature of sin and righteousness by faith, but to the loss of the concept of personal holiness. When the concept of personal wholeness for God is lost, which is one of the most beautiful concepts in all Scripture, sanctification is gone. For the New Theology, sanctification was just good advice but it was not fundamental to salvation. Only justification was necessary for salvation, and that was only forensic, or “legal only” justification. A person did not want to even think about it too hard, lest works would be involved and the works would violate grace and your salvation would be lost.

The concepts of the New Theology, regarding forensic, or legal only justification, came right out of historical criticism, which Ellen White condemns as being the doctrine of Satan himself. Satan taught it, she says, to the people who advocated it. It denies the inspired dimension of the Bible as being the Word of God, placing it on the level of the common and the profane, which is another attack on holiness, because holiness means a separation from the common and the profane.

We are to sit in heavenly places with Christ. We are going to be a separate people. We must be separate even in the way we think. We will have to be separate even in our presuppositions.

Presuppositions are like glasses. When we wear glasses, the whole world looks different. Every person has presuppositions. This generation, particularly of the young children, is being shaped at the prepositional level. You see, Christianity is an exclusive religion. There is only one true God—the Creator. What does Hinduism teach? Many gods. Pantheism teaches that God is in everything, which is a part of the New Age movement. It is these concepts that are shaping children; concepts that dissolve and diffuse the laser sharp focus of true Christianity that there is one God and one Savior, Jesus Christ—something that is regarded as selfish and bigoted today.

Today, Hindu, new eastern toleration has spread through our society, making the idea of an exclusive truth very unpopular, smacking of bigotry. Suggestions that the papacy must be exposed raise fears that this will offend the ecumenical brother.

Have you ever been termed selfish and unloving because you have principles from the Scriptures that guide you along the narrow path of sanctification and holiness? This has been Satan’s charge since the very beginning. The unyielding purity in the life and cleanness, which is involved in and so fundamental to holiness, leading to separation from all impurity, is a fundamental principle that God’s people must have. This is particularly true as they enter into the final conflict.

What did Paul say the gospel is? It is an offense. It is an offense because it cuts across the grain. That is what it means to lift up your cross and follow Christ. It is offensive to the carnal heart.

The Lord has a message to break up the thought patterns, to break people out of the fog—out of the confusion of Babylon, out of the mold they have been molded in—to carve them out. It is the work of the three angels’ messages to carve a people out, to cleave them out of Babylon. It prepares a separate and distinct people. That is why the doctrine of the nature of the church is so important. It all rests upon these concepts of God’s holiness because God’s holiness demands exclusivity for God. Our soul must be solely God’s; the church must be solely God’s; and all of our affections are to be directed to Him.

In our society today, Satan’s counterfeit for this experience of personal holiness is existentialism. Most people in America do not even know these terms. They are not philosophically oriented like the Europeans are. But this concept of existentialism—the philosophy that God is not actively, personally involved directly in human life, that life is basically absurd and meaningless and meaning can only be found in having an experience—has worked its way into the church through the church growth movement. The concept of the caring church in the church-growth movement rests upon the language of existentialism, and a modified form of existentialism. These concepts are well nigh all persuasive through our society.

The charismatic movement, in reality, rests upon this tenant that holiness can be achieved only through the experience of emotional excitement. Christian existentialism leads to the idea that you have to whip yourself up into an emotional excitement, but Ellen White said that holiness is not rapture; it is the entire surrender of the will and the heart and the entire being to God. We are to worship God in the beauty of holiness.

For the true Christian, holiness is the fundamental attribute of God. It is inherent in His being. It is exercised in his relationship with His creation. It is received by righteousness by faith when the soul makes an entire surrender to the Lord, and thus is wholly the Lord’s.

This concept of holiness, when it is accepted by people and the culture, shapes the culture. This is what makes love in marriage and family wonderful; it is guided by holiness. It is the absence of this concept that has so debased the romantic life of the culture that there is no substance left in the relationship, leading to transitory relationships. As people fail to understand the holiness of God, they are unable to partake of His righteousness through faith, therefore, there is no substance to their love. When there is an understanding of the holiness of God, it completely alters the human race.

Holiness is the great Christian defense. Holiness is the characteristic that protects all of the other attributes communicated by God to the soul through faith. It is God’s holiness that moves Him to protect His people, and when His people abandon holiness they abandon His protection. When, however, they are interested in receiving that holiness by faith, the mighty arm of God is moved to act in their defense and all the power of human will throughout six thousand years of earth’s history is as nothing compared to the mighty will of God, which wills His purity, which wills His holiness, and which acts to defend and protect the integrity of the soul in holiness.

This abandonment of holiness is one reason why our generation has no sense of personal identity, leading them to feel as though they are nothing. They go to the psychiatrist and get even more deeply involved in existentialism and all these philosophies of self, self-help and self-esteem. They do not know who they are because they do not understand holiness.
Holiness is what protects the purity and integrity of the person in the wholeness of their surrender to God. To the extent that our generation has forgotten what holiness is, it has no defense against the demonic influences that are assaulting the souls of people throughout all society.

In order for souls to be saved, they must be renewed in holiness. They must be renewed in and partakers of the holiness of God. They must perfect holiness in the fear of God.

There is the enormous power of omnipotence in holiness. Holiness is the great guardian of liberty and purity, for where the presence of God is, there is liberty, and there is stability. As human relationships are breaking down among the people of God, there is to be a drawing together in holiness, a desiring to communicate holiness to other people and establish them in holiness, which is what true love really is.

“holiness of heart and purity of life was the great subject of the teaching of Christ. In His Sermon on the Mount, after specifying what must be done in order to be blessed, and what must not be done, He says, ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ Perfection, holiness, nothing short of this, would give them success in carrying out the principles He had given them.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 445

So, if we would have success in carrying out the principles of the Sermon on the Mount, we must possess holiness by faith in Christ’s righteousness.

“Without this holiness the human heart is selfish, sinful, and vicious. Holiness will lead its possessor to be fruitful and abound in all good works. He will never become weary in well-doing, neither will he look for promotion in this world. He will look forward for promotion to the time when the Majesty of heaven shall exalt the sanctified ones to His throne. Then shall He say unto them: ‘Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ The Lord then enumerates the works of self-denial and mercy, compassion and righteousness, which they had wrought. Holiness of heart will produce right actions. It is the absence of spirituality, of holiness, which leads to unrighteous acts, to envy, hatred, jealousy, evil surmisings, and every hateful and abominable sin.” Ibid.

“’No man receives holiness as a birthright, or as a gift from any other human being. Holiness is the gift of God through Christ.” Our High Calling, 214

Overcoming

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Ever since the Second Advent Movement began in the early 1800s, it has been the devil’s purpose to destroy it. During the first 10 years of the 20th Century, it suffered three very powerful attacks, any one of which could have totally brought it to an end.

A study of these attacks reveals certain things that were common to all three. One was from the “holy flesh” movement, which was not considered an attack but was thought to bring in the loud cry.

Then came the development of pantheism, promoted by John Harvey Kellogg. Finally, Elder Ballenger instigated new ideas and new theology with new interpretations of prophecy and the sanctuary.

All three had two things in common. One was a misunderstanding concerning the function and role of the Holy Spirit. In the apostolic church, the Holy Spirit was in charge of the church. The church was not under the control of the apostles or church councils. The record of the first general church council is found in Acts 15:28: “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things … .”

The New Testament church organization will not work unless the Holy Spirit is in charge. If you study church history, you will find that when the church lost the Holy Spirit, they lost power. When the church recognized that, they sought another way to have power to manage, to control, and to operate. So they sought power from the state.

Ellen White documents that in The Great Controversy, 443: “When the early church became corrupted by departing from the simplicity of the gospel and accepting heathen rites and customs, she lost the Spirit and power of God; and in order to control the consciences of the people, she sought the support of the secular power.”

The church has never gotten back to what the early church had. Ellen White wrote, “Before the final visitation of God’s judgments upon the earth there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times.” Ibid., 464.

The early church, under the control and the direction of the Holy Spirit, had primitive godliness. Our goal today is to be under the direction of that same Spirit.

In Acts 16:6, it says, “Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.” We read here that plans were made to carry on the work, but the Holy Spirit changed their direction. In order for us to have a revival of primitive godliness that has not been seen since apostolic times, the Holy Spirit must lead. It would be appropriate for all of us to pray, “Lord, we want our family, ourselves, and our church, to be under the direction of the Holy Spirit.”

The “holy flesh” movement believed that when you have the garden experience and receive the Holy Spirit, you will then have holy flesh and no longer have a sinful nature. But that is not true. Ellen White said to the people and to the ministers, “Not a soul of you has holy flesh now. No human being on earth has holy flesh. It is an impossibility.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 32.

Fanaticism abounded in this movement in regard to the function and role of the Holy Spirit. The same is true in regard to pantheism, which holds that since God is everywhere, then God is inside you. The Holy Spirit is in everybody, whether you are saved or not. That is also not true.

Both the holy flesh movement and pantheistic theology had wrong ideas in regard to sanctification. Sometimes people believe that is old hat and not important, but similar beliefs are circulating even today. When my brother, Marshall Grosboll, was alive, he approached a fellow well-known conference pastor privately about what this minister was teaching. This man has written many books which are still today sold in local Adventist Book Centers. He asked his colleague, What was the difference between what he was teaching and holy flesh? The minister replied that the only difference was that the holy flesh movement taught that once you have the experience, then you have it for the rest of your life, but he taught that it has to happen every day. That is holy flesh theology and it is being taught in Seventh-day Adventist colleges to new ministers, and to the largest congregations. The writings are put in the bookstores all over the country and nobody seems to realize that anything is going on. These early false doctrines have had an effect that continue today.

One of the problems is that you can look at an idea from more than one point of view. It is possible to emphasize so much of one aspect that people lose sight of the entire idea.

An example of this was when my wife and I were in southern California and I was attending Loma Linda University. We attended a very large church and as far as I know the pastor was a godly man. However, this pastor only preached about righteousness by faith and specifically, justification by faith. Justification by faith is a true doctrine but after attending this church for some years, I began to wonder when we would hear anything about sanctification. It is not that there was anything wrong with his message, but it was not a complete message. It is possible to look at something, even though it’s true, and place so much emphasis on that, that something else that is very important is lost. Ellen White says it is human nature to go to extremes. So we need to pray and ask the Lord to help us be balanced.

Let’s look at relationships between different things that people think are opposites or that are in some way contradictory.

  1. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHRIST’S WORK ON THE CROSS AND THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Some emphasize so much our salvation being affected by Christ’s dying on the cross. Even though there would be no salvation if Jesus did not die on the cross, that is not all there is to salvation.

In The Desire of Ages, 671, it says, “The Holy Spirit was the highest of all gifts that He [Christ] could solicit from His Father for the exaltation of His people. The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail.”

We are not depreciating the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, which is the foundation of our salvation, but without the Holy Spirit, the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. She says, “The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power. It is the Spirit [a regenerating agent] that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world’s Redeemer. It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress His own character upon His church.” Ibid.

  1. RELATION OF THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL

There are some, such as the Jews, who accept the Old Testament, and not the New Testament. There are other Christians who accept the New Testament, but not the Old Testament.

Many years ago, I was making personal gospel visits as a gospel worker in Chattanooga, Tennessee. At one home I was invited in and had a very interesting visit. I found out that the man I was speaking to was a retired preacher. As we talked, I discovered that he didn’t accept anything in the Old Testament. Not only did he not accept anything in the Old Testament, he didn’t want me to read anything to him in the New Testament before the Book of Acts, because he said, “Before Jesus died on the cross, that was all under the old covenant. That is all for the Jews, and so, all the things Jesus taught doesn’t apply to me now. Just read to me from the Book of Acts and on.” Some of these very same people don’t believe you can understand the Book of Revelation. To them the Bible starts in the Book of Acts and ends before Revelation, leaving only the books in between.

Ellen White wrote about this attitude: “There are those who profess to believe and teach the truths of the Old Testament, while they reject the New. But in refusing to see the teachings of Christ, they show they do not believe that which patriarchs and prophets have spoken. …

“Many who claim to believe and to teach the gospel are in the similar error. They set aside the Old Testament Scriptures of which Christ declared, ‘They are they which testify of Me’ (John 5:39). In rejecting the Old, they virtually reject the New; for both are parts of an inseparable whole. No man can rightly present the law of God without the gospel, or the gospel without the law.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 128. One is incomplete without the other.

  1. JESUS: BOTH LORD AND CHRIST

There are many people today, many Christians, even Adventists, who want to look to Jesus as their Saviour from sin but fail to want Him as the Lord or Ruler of their life. It is critical to understand that Jesus cannot save you if He is not also your Lord. “… if we accept Christ as a Redeemer, we must accept Him as a Ruler. We cannot have the assurance and perfect confiding trust in Christ as our Saviour until we acknowledge Him as our King and are obedient to His commandments.” Faith and Works, 16.

  1. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOD’S WORK AND MAN’S WORK

Some people will read I Corinthians 1:30, which says, Christ is made unto us, not only righteousness, but “… sanctification and redemption …” and assert that the Lord does everything.

“God has given men faculties and capabilities. God works and cooperates with the gifts He has imparted to man, and man, by being a partaker of the divine nature and doing the work of Christ, may be an overcomer and win eternal life. The Lord does not propose to do the work He has given man powers to do. Man’s part must be done. He must be a laborer together with God, yoking up with Christ, learning His meekness, His lowliness.” Faith and Works, 26.

This has been a huge problem in the Adventist Church. It started with the “holy flesh” people, and it still exists today. It is the idea that all that is necessary to overcome is to read your Bible, pray, and witness. There is nothing wrong with any of these things; in fact, they are essential, but the process of sanctification—overcoming—involves more than that.

God does not intend to do the work that He has given you and me to do. This is illustrated when Jesus was at the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus said, Roll away the stone. This was something that they were capable of doing. Jesus raised Lazarus who was dead, something they could not do. Ellen White comments that there were legions of angels present at that time and Jesus could have asked one of them to roll away the stone which could have been done very easily. The angel that came down from heaven rolled away the stone at the tomb of Christ as if it were a pebble. (See The Desire of Ages, 535.)

  1. FORGIVENESS

You are saved because your sins are forgiven. You cannot be saved if your sins are not forgiven, but you cannot be saved by that alone. Jesus said to Nicodemus that if you are not born of water and the Spirit you are not going to be in the kingdom of heaven (John 3:5). “The religion of Christ means more than the forgiveness of sin; it means taking away our sins, and filling the vacuum with the graces of the Holy Spirit.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 419, 420.

  1. REPENTANCE AND SALVATION

Can I be saved by repentance? Repentance is necessary; it is the first step in the way of salvation. “No repentance is genuine that does not work reformation.” The Desire of Ages, 555. Reformation involves the change of life. “The righteousness of Christ is not a cloak to cover unconfessed and unforsaken sin.” Ibid., 555, 556.

  1. SALVATION “WITHOUT”

In the last 30 to 35 years, it has become very popular to teach that salvation is what Christ does for you “without” that is, apart from anything that you do on your own. That idea is not historic Adventist teaching, but rather has come in with the new theology—that you are saved by justification alone and that salvation comes as a result of what Christ has done for you on the cross.

Now what He has done for you without is important. You cannot be saved without that but that is not enough. It is indeed possible that some Adventist preachers have emphasized too much that it is what happens within, but there must be a balance and belief of the full gift of salvation.

“I call upon everyone who claims to be a son of God never to forget this great truth, that we need the Spirit of God within us in order to reach heaven, and the work of Christ without us in order to give us a title to the immortal inheritance.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 441. You need the Spirit’s work within, and you need what Christ does for you without, in order to have a title to your immortal inheritance.

  1. FAITH AND WORKS

Faith and works. “There are many who fail to understand the relation of faith and works. … genuine faith will be manifest in obedience.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 153. If I have real faith it will be manifested in obedience.

Bible sanctification involves overcoming or conquering sin so that it no longer has power in my life and I am free from sin. This does not happen with God doing it and my not doing anything. It is the work of a lifetime and cannot happen without the Holy Spirit’s power and my cooperation.

What are some things that I should be doing to cooperate with the Holy Spirit so that I can be an overcomer?

  1. ABSTAIN FROM FLESHLY LUSTS

“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul” (I Peter 2:11). The word “lust” comes from the Greek word epithumia, which means a very strong craving or a strong desire. Usually it is used in the New Testament with a negative connotation, although once in a while the word is used simply to mean a very strong craving. Jesus used this word when He spoke to His disciples in the upper room about His great desire, His epithumia, to eat the Passover supper with them before His crucifixion. He did not have an evil desire to want to eat that last supper with His disciples before He suffered, but he did have a very strong desire to do so.

Though most of the time in the New Testament this word is used with a negative connotation, referring most commonly to appetite and sexual lust, it can also refer to things like anger. Peter said, Watch out and “… abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.”

Paul said in Romans 12:1: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” In the Old Testament, a sacrifice was to be perfect. Therefore, I am to present my body and my mind in the best possible physical condition.

If I want to be successful in the process of sanctification, I must cooperate with the Holy Spirit. “The controlling power of appetite will prove the ruin of thousands, when, if they had conquered on this point, they would have had moral power to gain the victory over every other temptation of Satan.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 163–165.

If they had gained the victory on appetite, they would have had moral power to gain the victory over every other temptation. “But those who are slaves to appetite will fail in perfecting Christian character.” Ibid., 163. If I am a slave to my appetite, I can pray all I want to, but I also have a work to do.

“The continual transgression of man for six thousand years has brought sickness, pain, and death as its fruits. And as we near the close of time, Satan’s temptation to indulge appetite will be more powerful and more difficult to overcome.” Ibid., 163, 164.

We are living in that time. Ellen White wrote those words back in about 1875. The temptation is more powerful now because of all the additives that have been put in the food that stimulates you to eat, and also the food is more available than it has ever been before.

A hundred years ago you could not go out at 11 o’clock at night and buy something to eat, but you can now. Many food stores and fast food restaurants are open 24 hours. However, if we are going to overcome sin and perfect a Christian character, we have to gain control of appetite. Remember, the Holy Spirit is not going to work and make it happen if we do not cooperate. We have to do our part and say, Lord, I am choosing to do what You said to do. I am choosing to not overeat, and to avoid eating at improper times. I choose to live in harmony with the laws of my body and I pray that You will help me to have the strength, the moral power, to carry out the decision that I am choosing to follow You.

The Holy Spirit can give you the victory. I personally believe that only the Holy Spirit can give a person the victory over these fleshly lusts that we all have. Peter says, abstain from lust (I Peter 2:11). So, whether it is sexual passions, pornography, or appetite, it is all the same—fleshly lusts. But we must cooperate or the Holy Spirit will not give us the victory.

  1. NEGLECT OF PRAYER

“Temptations often appear irresistible because, through neglect of prayer and the study of the Bible, the tempted one cannot readily remember God’s promises and meet Satan with the Scripture weapons.” The Great Controversy, 600.

When Christ was tempted in the Garden of Gethsemane and God was withdrawing His beams of light from Him, it says in Luke 22:44, “… being in agony, He prayed more earnestly … .” The bigger the problem that you are facing, the more you need to be in prayer.

  1. MEMORIZING SCRIPTURE

You should be memorizing the Bible so that you have spiritual weapons when the devil tempts you. When the devil tempted Jesus, Jesus came back at the devil with Scriptural weapons. “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee” (Psalm 119:11, literal translation).

  1. SELF-CONTROL OR TEMPERANCE

In I Corinthians 9:24–27, we are told: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

Ellen White wrote, “There is no encouragement given to any of the sons or daughters of Adam that they may become victorious overcomers in the Christian warfare unless they decide to practice temperance in all things.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 35.

That is a decision we have to make. Temperance simply means to abstain from all things that you know are harmful and partake moderately of what is good for you.

  1. FIGHT OF FAITH – RESISTING

“For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin” (Hebrews the 12:3, 4).

Notice, he says, “… You have not yet … .” He doesn’t say you won’t; he just says, You have not done it yet.

It has become popular in some circles to teach that you just sit in the car and ask Christ to be the driver and He will take you to heaven. That is not Bible religion. It is also important to be in the fight and resist sin. The Bible teaches that there is such a thing as the “the fight of faith” (I Timothy 6:12, first part).

Christ resisted unto bloodshed. Luke 22:44 records Jesus when in the Garden of Gethsemane, “His sweat became as great clots of blood, dropping to the ground” (literal translation). Those who have studied physiology and understand how things work in the capillaries know that a hemoglobin molecule is far too big to escape and come out the pores under normal circumstances. But Jesus resisted unto blood. Becoming sanctified and experiencing victory involves being willing to be in the fight, the Christian warfare.

Paul said, Fight the fight (I Timothy 6:12). James said, Resist the devil (James 4:7). The New Testament is full of counsel that you must be willing to be in the holy war. It is a war against sin of every stripe and type. It is a war against every sinful thought, every sinful word, and every sinful action. It is a war that you and I must win if we are going to be in heaven.

All the inhabitants of heaven are going to be overcomers. It is not optional; it is something that is absolutely necessary. Strive to live so that OVERCOMER may be written on your page in the book in heaven.

In Revelation chapters 2 and 3, it is the overcomers in all seven churches that are given the promise of eternal life.

Do not ever think that you have to do it alone. We cannot do anything alone, but the Holy Spirit has all the power needed, even if you are the weakest and most sinful person in the world.

“Or let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me” (Isaiah 27:5).

There is all the power that you need. The Lord has all the power that you need, but it is up for you and me to take hold of it.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church of Free Seventh-day Adventists in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

A Silk Purse from a Sow’s Ear

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A Silk Purse from a Sow’s Ear
By John Pearson

According to Wiktionary (“a collaborative project to produce a free-content multilingual dictionary”), the expression “to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear” means “to produce something refined, admirable, or valuable from something which is unrefined, unpleasant, or of little or no value” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/make_a_silk_purse_of_a_sow%27s_ear).

Perhaps there is no better way to describe in the common vernacular the work of the Holy Spirit on the human heart.

Indeed, the Bible is replete with expressions of the miraculous transformation of something “of little or no value” into “something refined, admirable, or valuable.” While we fallible humans might view someone steeped in sin as of little or no value, we should be thankful that the Lord knows the heart. Think of the woman taken in adultery, the woman at the well, or even Saul, one of the disciples’ most ardent foes, who was transformed into Paul, one of Christ’s most faithful disciples.

It is important to note that although this transformation is done as a free gift to mankind, one must participate in the effort on a personal level to ensure fitness to receive this gift.

On first examination, this gifting seems to be a bit of a paradox. In temporal life, quite often if someone chooses to present a gift to another, there need not necessarily be any action on the recipient’s part to qualify. However, the plan of salvation is not a birthday party, and diligent effort is indeed required to be fit to receive the gift of salvation.

Without doubt, the promises of salvation are plentiful in God’s word. They are plentiful and they are secure. But they are also conditional. Although God’s love is unconditional—He loves the sinner to the same degree as He loves the saint—His promises are conditional. If we do not fulfill the conditions associated with a given promise, we cannot expect to benefit from that promise.

A favorite promise is the one found in Ezekiel 11:16–21: “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.”’ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”’ “And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there. Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads,’ says the Lord God.” ’ ”

This promise of a new heart is repeated in Ezekiel 36:22–32: “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. Not for your sake do I do this,” says the Lord God, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!” ’ ”

Notice that in both of these passages there is a reason for this action on God’s part.

In Ezekiel 11, it is only those who have separated themselves from detestable things and abominations who are recipients of one heart and a new spirit, the result being that they “walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them.”

In Ezekiel 36, the basis of the promise is to uphold the honor of God’s holy name, “which has been profaned among the nations.” Although no specific action on the part of the recipients is stated, it is clear from verses 31 and 32 that the recipients of a “heart of flesh” had been cleansed from all their filthiness and from all their idols through cooperation with God as He did this miraculous work in them.

Remember that in Ezekiel 33:11, God had said, “Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’ ”

Clearly, God could not fulfill His promises to Israel until they had met the conditions by turning from their evil ways. Failure to do so could only result in death.

The role that one must play in being fit to receive this wonderful free gift is made evident not only in Scripture, but also in the Spirit of Prophecy.

“Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort they must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people upon earth.” The Great Controversy, 425. [Emphasis added.]

The obvious question here is, What “diligent effort” is required on each individual’s part in the “putting away of sin”?

First, we must believe when we repeat David’s prayer for a clean heart and a right spirit that God answers that prayer. We must use that “measure of faith” each has been given to grasp the promise that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, He shall give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4). It should also be understood that our desires must be in accord with His plan of salvation. He certainly is not going to give Satan the desires of his wicked heart.

Then we must understand what our “diligent effort” is to include. When God answers our prayer for a new heart and a right spirit, will we suddenly no longer be tempted by our besetting sin? Would that it were that easy! No. Unfortunately, Satan and his evil agents will continue to bring temptations before us.

Remember that Christ was tempted up until He took His last breath: “And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, ‘You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, ‘He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him’ ” (Matthew 27:39–42).

In answer to our prayer, the Lord does not remove temptations from our pathway, but instead He gives us the power to resist those temptations. Just as Christ, by faith, resisted every effort on Satan’s part to get Him to deny His faith, we are promised that same victory “through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Remember that God’s people are characterized as “those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12).

Paul provided what is arguably one of the most encouraging promises in God’s word when he wrote to the Corinthians, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (I Corinthians 10:13).

That “way of escape” that God makes involves the exercise of faith in His promises and availing ourselves of the abundant grace He so freely and generously provides that enable us to resist the efforts of the enemy of souls to dissuade us from the path of truth and righteousness.

When the enemy comes in like a flood, we must have the presence of mind to call upon God, “who performs all things for me” (Psalm 57:2).

Isaiah expressed the same faith in God’s protection and assistance in Isaiah 26:12: “Lord, You will establish peace for us, for You have also done all our works in us.” [Emphasis added.]

Even Jeremiah, often referred to as the prophet of doom or the weeping prophet, understood and wrote a powerful expression of God’s work in our hearts: “They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me” (Jeremiah 32:38–40).

Jesus also acknowledged the work that God does to enable us to bear fruit ripe for repentance: “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2).

Although this pruning process can be unpleasant and even painful, it is a necessary process in shaping one’s character into the image of Christ. Then the transformation from sow’s ear to silk purse will be complete.

One of the most encouraging (if indeed it is possible to rank the wonderful promises in God’s word) is found in Philippians 1:6: “… being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

What a glorious day that will be when that small cloud appears in the east and the saints can say in unison, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation” (Isaiah 25:9).

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it” (I Thessalonians 5:23, 24).

“Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:11, 12).

“But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you” (I Peter 5:10).

“I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Corinthians 1:4–8).

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen” (Jude 1:24, 25).

All quotes NKJV unless otherwise noted.

John Pearson is the office manager and a board member of Steps to Life. After retiring as chief financial officer for the Grand Canyon Association, Grand Canyon, Arizona, he moved to Wichita, Kansas, to join the Steps team. He may be contacted by email at: johnpearson@stepstolife.org.

Overcoming and Christian Perfection

by

I once heard a sermon on the necessity of Christian perfection. There was no argument about the subject or the conclusion that those ready for Jesus to come will experience Christian perfection. However, no good can come from this conclusion without showing how it will be possible. Because of our own imperfections, this subject is a very unpopular topic in the Christian world today and very few Christians would have anything to say about it during their worship.

Christian perfection is biblical. Paul told the church at Colossians, “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and irreproachable in His sight” (Colossians 1:21, 22). That sounds like a description of Christian perfection, does it not? In verse 28 he adds, “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”

There are two general theories regarding Christian perfection. The majority view is that by simply coming to Christ and confessing your sins, the righteousness of Jesus covers you and you are made perfect. However, in reality, that is just the first step in the Christian walk.

Peter understood there was more to it when he said, “… but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’ And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear” (I Peter 1:15–17). There are many Christian theologians and pastors who teach that the judgment is on the basis of your faith but Peter says that it is based on each one’s work, the way you live, which gives evidence of your faith.

Paul said, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ …” (Ephesians 4:11–15).

This text describes a process which happens over a period of time. In fact, it is the work of a person’s lifetime to become sanctified and fit to be in the presence of sinless beings.

In general, there are six points to achieving Christian perfection, or overcoming our natural sinful nature.

Memorizing Scripture

David said, “Your word I have hidden in my heart [memorized it], that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). Memorizing scripture allows you to internalize the essence of a text. The Waldenses were encouraged to memorize Scripture and if they were having trouble, to memorize one word each day. In one year over 300 words would be memorized. Some young Waldensians could quote the entire book of Matthew, John and several of the Epistles.

You will never be without words of comfort and will always have an answer to be able to speak a word in season if the promises are in your head. It will bring spiritual power into your life.

Prayer and Fasting

There was a time when the disciples brought a boy that was possessed with the devil and even though they had cast out devils before, they could not cast out this one. When Jesus came down from the mount of transfiguration, He said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me” (Matthew 17:17). After Jesus had cast the devil out His disciples came to him privately and asked why they couldn’t cast him out. Jesus answered in verse 21: “… this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

There are some sins that will never be overcome without prayer and fasting. Examine your own prayer life to see if you are like Enoch, who talked with the Lord daily. The more he had to do, the more he had to talk to the Lord about.

Prayer and faith are closely related. Mark 9:22 tells the story of the man who brought his mute son to Jesus saying, “… often he [the demon that possessed him] has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Many people feel hopeless like this father in their struggle to overcome their problems. Jesus told the pleading father, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (verse 23).

In Matthew 13:58 it says: “Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” Again, the problem is not whether Jesus can work miracles but rather, can you believe? You may be the weakest, most sinful person around and may have been in the bondage of sin your whole life, but you can be delivered if you believe. “Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my [struggle with] unbelief’ ” (Mark 9:24)!

Ellen White’s comment on that verse is very encouraging:

“You can never perish while you do this—never.” The Desire of Ages, 429.

Fight

“You have not yet resisted unto bloodshed, striving against sin” (Hebrews 12:4). James says in James 4:7, “Resist the devil. …” When temptations come, put up a fight and claim the victory.

Luke 22–23 describes Jesus’ battle in the Garden of Gethsemane where His sweat was like great clots of blood falling on the ground. Truly He fought a hard battle as He “resisted unto bloodshed.”

While in college, one of my besetments was eating donuts. The sweet smell from the college bakery spilled clear out onto the sidewalk, luring me in as I walked past. I would buy a sack of donuts and have them all eaten before I got back to my room. Finally, I determined that the wise thing to do was to avoid walking past the bakery and stay away from the temptation.

Similarly, if your problem is alcohol, do not go and visit with people in the tavern. If pornography, videos, television programs or Internet is your problem, you may need to find a mentor to keep you accountable. Jesus said to pray, “… lead us not into temptation” (Matthew 6:13 KJV). Often you can walk into temptation by not using good judgment.

Practice Health Reform

Paul said, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things” (I Corinthians 9:24).

The word temperate means exercising self-restraint. Paul continues, “Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air, But I discipline my body …” (verses 25–27). The language he uses is stronger than anything I know how to say in English. He says, I keep my body under control. I control my eating, my drinking, my sleeping, my exercise and every area of life; I am under control.

Witnessing

Share your faith with those around you. Revelation 12:11 says, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

When Jesus left this earth, He said to His disciples, “You are My witnesses. You are to bear testimony. You are to bear witness for Me.” You have not been called to be salesmen but witnesses of what you have seen and know.

Praise God

The last part of Nehemiah 8:10 says, “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

“To praise God in fullness and sincerity of heart is as much a duty as is prayer. We are to show to the world and to all the heavenly intelligences that we appreciate the wonderful love of God for fallen humanity and that we are expecting larger and yet larger blessings from His infinite fullness. Far more than we do, we need to speak of the precious chapters in our experience. After a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, our joy in the Lord and our efficiency in His service would be greatly increased by recounting His goodness and His wonderful works in behalf of His children.

“These exercises drive back the power of Satan. They expel the spirit of murmuring and complaint, and the tempter loses ground.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 299, 300.

Satan will lose ground in the family where praise services are held and the joy of the Lord is your strength.

There are many who have been endeavoring to put these principles into practice for many years. They are trying to practice health reform, memorizing Scripture and praying. Yet they are perplexed that they are still struggling to overcome sin. It is easy to slip off the path of truth and become like the Pharisees who tried to work out their own salvation by their good works.

“Also He [Jesus] spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’

“And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:9–14).

There are several points about the Pharisee who went up to pray:

  1. He was full of self-praise, saying, “Oh, I am so thankful that I am not like other people.” He looks it. He walks it. He even prays it.
  2. He draws apart from others because he is better than they are. His body language is like the person talked about in Isaiah 65:5 which says, “… Do not come near to me, for I am holier than you!” And so, it says, “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. …”
  3. The Pharisee felt, “Well, I’m OK, whether you are or not.” He prayed a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord that he was not an extortioner [a person who takes from others by force, duress, menaces, threats, insubordination, authority, or by any undue exercise of power] like other men—unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.”
  4. Instead of comparing his own character with the character of God, he judges himself against the character of other men. As a result, his mind is turned away from God to other people. He becomes self-satisfied, figuring that he is better than others. If I compare myself to you, then the worse you are, the better I look.
  5. He then begins to recount his good deeds. He says, “I fast twice a week …” Not only does he fast twice a week, but he gives tithes – plural. He is giving twenty or more percent of his income, to the church; so he figures that he is in good shape.

The problem is that this man’s religion does not touch his actual soul. It is not a matter of his heart. It is merely something he does, going through all the motions on the outside. He is not seeking for godliness of character. He is not seeking to have a heart that is filled with love and mercy. He is satisfied with a religion that has totally only to do with his outward life. And his outward life looks really good.

The apostle Paul could relate to that experience. He said, “If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless” (Philippians 3:4–6).

The righteousness of this Pharisee was the fruit of his own works and judged by a human standard. Because he trusts in himself for righteousness, he does what everybody does who trusts in their own righteousness. He despises others.

As he judges himself by other men, so he judges other men by himself, and his righteousness is estimated by theirs. The worse they are, the better he looks. Then his self-righteousness leads him to begin accusing, “I am glad I am not even like this tax collector.”

The Bible identifies the accuser of the brethren as Satan. In Revelation 12:10 KJV we are told: “… for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”

If my religion leads me to become an accuser, a fault-finder, it is a Satanic religion. We must be careful not to develop the spirit of Satan, which will make it impossible to enter into communion with God. So, Jesus said that man in the parable went down to his house the same way he came in. Those with a similar attitude today go to church and leave again in the same condition they arrived in, with no improvement whatsoever.

The Pharisee went off by himself thinking he was better than everybody else. The tax collector went off by himself because he thought he was worse than everybody else. He did not mingle with the worshipers, because he didn’t feel worthy to unite with them in their devotions. It says he stood “afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes toward heaven, but beat his breast” (Luke 18:13, literal translation). He considered himself a terrible sinner. He was in bitter anguish and abhorred himself with the knowledge that he was sinful and polluted from the evil things that he had done.

In Jesus’ day, the worst thing a woman could do was to be a prostitute or a harlot and the worst thing a man could do was be a tax collector for the Roman government. This tax collector was at the bottom. Other people would not even associate with him and he knew not to expect pity from anybody around him. He was looked upon with contempt and he knew that he had no merit in himself to present to God.

That experience is the only way a person can be saved when they come to God.

“Our only hope is perfect trust in the blood of Him who can save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him. The death of Christ on the cross of Calvary is our only hope in this world, and it will be our theme in the world to come. Oh, we do not comprehend the value of the atonement! If we did, we would talk more about it. … It is the greatest subject that can engage the human mind. If men would contemplate the love of Christ, displayed in the cross, their faith would be strengthened to appropriate the merits of his shed blood, and they would be cleansed and saved from sin.” The Signs of the Times, December 30, 1889.

The tax collector understood one vital thing: he possessed no merit and no goodness whatsoever in himself. His only chance that anything good could happen to him was if God had mercy upon him, which was his only request. His heart’s desire was to be pardoned.

Jesus said, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified … .”

What does this have to do with overcoming for those who think they cannot overcome and have tried everything? Ellen White says, “But we must have a knowledge of ourselves, a knowledge that will result in contrition, before we can find pardon and peace. The Pharisee felt no conviction of sin. The Holy Spirit could not work with him.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 158.

Why was this so? He was self-righteous. He did not need anybody else’s righteousness, because he had his own. The trouble is, “We are all an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6, literal translation).

Jesus said, “They that are whole do not need a physician” (Matthew 9:12, literal translation). If you do not realize your need, the Lord will not be able to help you.

The patient that the physician cannot help is the one who thinks that everything is okay. He refuses to follow advice, take medicine or do anything because he does not think he is sick. The same applies to spiritual matters. “We must know our true condition, or we shall not feel our need of Christ’s help. We must understand our danger, or we shall not flee to the refuge. We must feel the pain of our wounds, or we shall not desire healing.” The Signs of the Times, April 9, 1902.

The spirit of Phariseeism is the spirit of the Laodicean church. (See Revelation 3:14–22.)

“We must behold Christ. It is ignorance of Him that makes men so uplifted in their own righteousness. When we contemplate His purity and excellence, we shall see our own weakness and poverty and defects as they really are. We shall see ourselves lost and hopeless … .” Christ’s Object Lessons, 159.

When you realize your hopeless condition, you are ready to recognize that you cannot save yourself. There is nothing you can do. You cannot memorize enough Scripture to save yourself, or pray enough, or witness enough, give enough, or practice health reform enough. You cannot perfectly overcome by doing everything you know; you are hopeless without the Lord working a divine miracle inside.

When you come to that realization, then you know of your need to renounce self. “But no man can empty himself of self. We can only consent for Christ to accomplish the work. Then the language of the soul will be, Lord, take my heart; for I cannot give it. It is Thy property. Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for Thee. Save me in spite of myself, my weak, unchristlike self. Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Thy love can flow through my soul.” Ibid.

Ask the Lord to keep your heart pure because you cannot keep it. Give the Lord permission to do everything that needs to be done in your life. When you are lifted into the pure and holy atmosphere where the current of Christ’s love can fall on your soul, it will change everything. Renunciation of self is to be made at every advance step heavenward.

The story of the publican and the tax collector contains the secret for overcoming for those who think it is impossible having tried everything else. The secret is not something you can do for yourself. It is something that only the Lord can do for you when you recognize your need and ask for His help.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church of Free Seventh-day Adventists in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

The Sanctuary Made Simple – Chapter 7

by Lawrence M. Nelson

The Sanctuary Made Simple bookChapter Seven – Christ The Answer

As we have pointed out in our study, once a year, the earthly sanctuary was to be cleansed. The day on which this event took place was called the Day of Atonement. It was a great and solemn day for the children of Israel. It was particularly holy also, for no one was permitted to do any work on this day. It was the keystone of the sacrificial system. Any man, woman, or child who did not make the needed preparation in afflicting his soul, making sure that his every sin had been taken into the sanctuary and separated from him, was to be cut off from the people of Israel. We read of this in Leviticus 23:29, “For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.” And so the Day of Atonement was a solemn occasion, for everyone had to examine himself to make sure that every sin in his life had been carried within the sanctuary.

In a short review, let us quickly enumerate once more the steps by which sin was separated from the sinner, and carried into the sanctuary. You remember, first the sinner must experience true contrition and repentance, represented by bringing a specified animal for sacrifice to the door of the tabernacle. There, he placed his hands upon its head, and confessed his sin, thus transferring his sin to the lamb. Then, with his own hand, he had to take a knife and slay the victim, for the innocent victim must die for his sins. Next, the priest would bring a bowl and take of the blood from the Iamb, which now in type carried the sin, which he then brought within the sanctuary, and sprinkled it upon the veil. In this way, the man’s sin was forgiven, and transferred into the sanctuary. You can readily see that during the year, with a great number of people, that there was an enormous accumulation of sin within the tabernacle. But once a year, God purposed that these sins would be removed from the sanctuary by a cleansing process. In our last study, we learned that the priest would take the blood of the sin offering, and enter within the most holy, and there sprinkle the blood upon the mercy seat. Thus signifying that the terms of the broken law had been satisfied. Then, symbolically, he would gather the sins and take them out of the sanctuary, and place them all upon the head of the scapegoat, which would be led away from the camp of Israel into the wilderness to die. In this manner, the sanctuary was cleansed on the great Day of Atonement.

We have discovered that the Lord Jesus Christ entered the heavenly sanctuary’s most holy place within the veil in October 1844, to conduct a final atonement process in the heavenly sanctuary since that date. This has been taking place for over 150 years now, and this work, I believe, will soon be finished. Any individual who has not made sure that every sin is confessed and forgiven will be separated forever from God when the final act of atonement is made; for Jesus will stand up and declare, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and He that is filthy, let him be filthy still, and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still” Revelation 22:11. Our only hope is in Jesus Christ’s power to enable a sinner to overcome sin. Thus Christ is the only answer to the sin problem.

But, today Satan is spreading abroad a new philosophy which is completely contrary to the sanctuary services and its teaching. He is leading men to think that their sin will be winked at by God, or will not be discovered before Jesus comes. ln Numbers 32:23, we are admonished with words that would be well to ponder, “Behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.”

Some years ago, a traveling newspaper correspondent observed a man carrying an old cane with some peculiar carvings on it. He thought very little of it, until two months later he was in the same vicinity and learned that an elderly man and his wife had been beaten to death. No one seemed to know why the murders had been committed, for the elderly couple had been loved by all. This man and his wife had been beaten to death with some kind of a stick. The correspondent went to the authorities, and gave them a description of the man he had seen with a strange looking cane. Six months later, the police found the man and brought him to justice. The judge was seated, the jury chosen, but the man had an alibi for every indictment. It seemed that the court couldn’t prove a thing against him. The judge was actually beginning to believe that maybe they had the wrong man, and the jury felt likewise. Until, the door of the courtroom opened and the newspaper correspondent walked down the aisle, in his hand he carried the blood-stained cane that he had found in the woods near the victim’s home. When the man who was accused of this brutal slaying saw the cane, his face suddenly turned white, and he began to tremble. Then everyone in the courtroom knew that he was guilty . . . be sure your sin will find you out!

There are many today who think that they can give a reasonable answer as to why they don’t surrender their sins to Jesus, and ask Him to plead their case before God. These individuals are also able to convince their pastors that they are pretty good and they are headed for the kingdom. But, God knows! And there are wives who deceive their husbands, leading them to think that they have been true to their marriage vows; but God knows! And there are some sons and daughters who convince their parents that they are just about perfect; but God knows! Some even have the ability to convince themselves that they are quite religious, and somehow will be saved when Jesus comes; but God knows! The Lord declares, “Shall not God search this out? For he knoweth the secrets of the heart.” Psalm 44:21.

Let’s bring this closer home to us as individuals. Imagine with me that there is a certain young man who has a wife and two children. This young man–we’ll call him Jim–is a good looking fellow; he has an excellent job and is a fine citizen. He pays his taxes, is well thought of in the community, he may even go to church. But, all the time he is under the conviction that he should come to Jesus and confess his sins, so he can be cleansed with His blood. However, Jim never gets around to doing what he knows he ought to do. Why? Well, maybe it is the Sabbath. He knows that the Bible teaches that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord his God. He knows that it’s a part of the divine law and he should keep it. But, there is a problem, maybe it just isn’t convenient to honor God’s day. Maybe he is having a struggle over returning tithe to God. He knows that ten percent of his income belongs to the Lord. Jim has so many blessings, a beautiful wife and two little girls, a car, a lovely home, but he also wants many other things. He feels he just can’t afford to pay tithe; or so he thinks. Maybe he has a problem with some secret bad habit, like smoking, or having an occasional drink with the boys after work. He doesn’t think anybody knows about this, but you see, God knows! Or it could be the love of some pleasure that in his heart he knows is contrary to God, but he just can’t seem to give it up. Perhaps the real issue in his mind is that he has never been baptized. He knows what God’s word says in John 3:5, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” But he has continued to put it off. The issue here is–a young man with sin in his life.

Now, let us suppose that one day something happens that Jim didn’t plan on. He might have been thinking deeply about his work, and without looking, he starts across the street. Suddenly he is hit by a car, and his life is instantly snuffed out! The funeral is held in the church which is filled to capacity with many of his friends. The pastor, thinking that Jim was ready for the kingdom, presents a wonderful eulogy; but what do you think? Can God accept this young man? Can Jim, now dead, do anything to correct his faulty, sinful record left on the books of heaven? What does God say about our condition when we are dead? For “the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they anymore a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun. . . . Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10.

The word of God has made it very clear that since Jim is dead he cannot do anything to correct his past mistakes. He’s dead, he’s buried; but is this the end? Oh, no! We read in God’s word that this man must now be judged. In the book of Hebrews 9:27, are these words: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

Now we have arrived at the crucial issue having to do with the judgment and the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary.

In the autumn of 1844, when Jesus Christ stepped in before the throne of God within the most holy place the judgment proceedings began. There are no words in the Bible that are more striking than those describing this judgment scene. “I beheld till the thrones were cast down (placed) and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” Daniel 7:9, 10.

Consider what happened when this great court of God convened in heaven in the year 1844. The first case would be that of Abel, who had been murdered by his brother Cain, for he was the first man to die in this world. Abel was a sinner, for–“all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. Yet, he believed in the Savior, and did as God had required. He took a Iamb and confessed his sins over it transferring them to the Iamb, and then with his own hand, he slew the sacrifice. When the books were opened, in which were recorded the sins of Abel, Jesus Christ was standing before God, pleading for Abel. “I have covered his sins with my blood. I want him to live in heaven with us.” God looks at Jesus, and then speaks those wonderful words: “Retain his name in the Book of Life.”

Next case, . . .we don’t know whose name came up next, but eventually Cain died and let us suppose that his name came up next. Was Cain a religious man? You would hardly think so, since the Bible says he murdered his brother. But, look a little closer. You will find that indeed he was quite a religious man. Cain thought himself righteous and came to God with a thank offering. Only he made no confession of sin. Instead of bringing a lamb for a sacrifice for his sins, he decided that he would go out to his garden and dig up some vegetables for his sacrifice. He built an altar, and placed the fruit of his labor upon the altar as an offering. Then he knelt down and prayed, asking God to accept his offering. But, God would not accept this substitute for sin. No one can ever earn salvation by his self righteousness. Remember the words of Hebrews 9:22, “Without the shedding of blood is no remission.” Cain presumed upon God’s mercy and grace. He did not bring a sacrificial lamb, representing Christ. And God will never accept a counterfeit. Since God would not accept his counterfeit sacrifice Cain became so angry that he killed his brother, Abel. All this is recorded in the books of heaven. As the books were opened and the record was revealed, could Jesus stand up as Cain’s advocate? As far as we know, He could not. There is nothing in the Bible to indicate that Cain ever accepted Jesus. He did not obey the requirements of Christ as outlined in the sacrificial system of the sanctuary. Can you imagine the sorrow of Jesus as God says, “Put Cain’s name in the book of death.”

And so, the judgment goes on for all people who ever lived on this earth. Everyone is judged according to the records in the books of heaven. Each individual is accepted or rejected as determined by the answer to one question: Has the blood of Christ covered his/her sins?

Now let’s go back to the funeral of this young man, Jim, who was killed by an automobile. A person may live a fairly good life, but not obey God in his daily living. What happens to him in the judgment? Did Christ do everything for Jim that he might be saved? Watch Jesus as He points to the nail prints in His hands, and to the wound in His side, and then says, ‘Father, I gave my life for that young man. Father, I died on Calvary, what more could I have done for him? But, he would not obey; he would not accept my sacrifice as provided. Therefore, I cannot cover his sins with my blood.” Slowly, but surely God says, “Put his name in the book of death.”

Am I making this too real? The sanctuary services are simple to understand. Friend, this is exactly what is going on in the heavenly sanctuary today. The cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven is real!

“Soon, none know how soon, the judgment will pass to the living.” Great Controversy, 1888 Edition, pg. 490.

lt makes us think seriously, doesn’t it? Are we ready for our names to come up before God?

There is more to the story of Jim’s experience even though his name was blotted out of the book of life. This is not the end for Jim as we shall see.

When Jesus comes the second time a resurrection will take place. “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” I Thessalonians 4:16, 17. In this first resurrection, when Jesus returns to this earth, Jim will not come forth from his grave. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will be raised in the first resurrection.

Now, what about Jim’s family? Let’s say that as time went on, his wife and daughters lived faithfully; keeping the commandments of God, making sure every sin was confessed and covered by the blood of Jesus until the day they, too, went into the grave. When Jesus comes in the clouds with ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands of angels, He looks upon the graves of His sleeping saints and calls for the righteous to come forth. This mother and daughters will come out of their graves clothed in immortality. No doubt, Jim’s wife will look around for her husband, and the girls will be looking for dad. When they see that his grave beside theirs has not been opened, tears fill their eyes, but God says that He shall wipe away all tears. Then with overwhelming joy they are lifted up by the angels to meet the Lord in the air and taken to heaven where they will spend the next one thousand years. “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6.

But, what about Jim–where is he–what will happen to him? Regarding the second resurrection, Revelation 20:5 says, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” At the end of the thousand years, Jesus is going to come back to this earth the third time with all His living saints, and He will also bring with him that great city, the New Jerusalem. As Jesus descends to the earth, the second resurrection of the dead takes place. It is the resurrection of the wicked. The Bible speaks of them as the sands of the seashore, or humanly speaking, they are without number! These still have the same spirit of rebellion and resistance to God’s requirements as they had while living on the earth.

Picture with me, Jim, as he comes forth in this final resurrection. He looks around, and sees the city of God, the New Jerusalem. He is troubled, and says, “That’s strange, this isn’t like what I used to read in my Bible.” and then, he sees the wicked of all ages milling around, what a sight! Something is wrong. Then he remembers that he did not obey God, and follow Christ in the way of salvation as taught in the sanctuary service. He did not repent and confess his sins. He did not transfer his sins to Jesus and accept His death for his sins. He did not allow Christ to take his sins into the sanctuary, and separate those sins from his sinful heart.

Therefore, Christ was unable to be his advocate before God. Christ would have gladly covered his sins with His blood and blotted them out. So the scripture is finally fulfilled, “Be sure your sins will find you out,” as fire comes down from God out of heaven, and devours Jim with his unforgiven sins.

But this need never happen to you or me–not when Christ has provided such a wonderful way of escape. Remember, there is no one in this world who has gone too far in the depths of sin but Jesus can forgive and save. Isaiah tell us, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18. There is hope for every one of us. “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25.

Yes! Jesus is the answer. He alone can save us. In His righteousness He can present your case before the Father, and He can pronounce you as one who has never sinned. This may sound too good to be real, but it is true. Do not hesitate–come boldly to Jesus. The Savior will make an atonement for you and be your personal Advocate. Remember, Christ is the answer to all your sins and to all your needs.

End